


Navigation of the New and Unknown

by greyswidows, So_Uncreative



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Angst, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, Firsts, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:54:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29099877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyswidows/pseuds/greyswidows, https://archiveofourown.org/users/So_Uncreative/pseuds/So_Uncreative
Summary: A new Merhayes one-shot posted every day up until Valentine's day, starting Feb. 1st.A series of 14 different one-shots written by myself and So_Uncreative, documenting Merhayes as they navigate different firsts within their friendship, their feelings for each other, their romantic relationship, their families, and more.
Relationships: Meredith Grey/Cormac Hayes
Comments: 93
Kudos: 82





	1. One Call Away

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is the beginning of the big secret project that So_Uncreative and I have been planning since mid-December last year. We were talking and she mentioned the idea of writing one-shots that documented certain firsts in Merhayes' lives, as a way to lead up to valentines. We got to conspiring and these are the results of the ideas we came up with! Starting today, we will be posting 1 fic here, every day, right up until Valentine's day, which will be the big finale. The fics were written alternatively, so I will make sure to note who wrote which fic as they're posted. We are really proud of how these turned out and we sincerely hope you enjoy them!
> 
> Up first: One Call Away - Merhayes' first late night call (written by So_Uncreative, aka herrera-n-hayes on tumblr)

Cormac Hayes was not necessarily a superstitious man, he didn't believe that smashed mirrors brought seven years bad luck and he scoffed at those who waved at a single magpie believing the sight of it could bring sorrow, but he knew better than to ever say that it had been a slow night aloud. Claiming that it was a slow night when standing within the corridors of a hospital was basically asking for something horrible to happen, so he kept his thoughts to himself, instead choosing to wander between the ER and the peds floor in hopes of finding something to occupy his mind. For the first two hours of his shift, he’d checked in with his patients, the nurses on his floor and anyone else he came across who he thought might be worth chatting to, only to find himself relieved yet tinged with frustration every time he heard everything was okay. For the third hour, he filled out the paperwork he’d been putting off for a few days and by the fourth, he was ready to utter the forbidden words out loud in the hopes of getting something to do.

Only surgeons would hate a quiet night, something his family always teased him about whenever they found him going stir crazy whenever he visited Ireland, but it was a statement he had to agree with. Cormac noticed that he wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of a boring night when he came across Dr. Schmitt and Dr. Kim actually sleeping in an on-call room, a shocking sight as he genuinely believed nobody in the hospital used those rooms for their intended purpose. He’d been looking for Meredith when he'd come across the two men, who he prayed he hadn’t disturbed because he knew that if he was going crazy without anything to do, then she was probably ten times worse. He’d learned during the past few months in Seattle that Meredith Grey was a force of nature, a force that could not be stopped or slowed, so he could only imagine what she might get up to on a quiet night. He was beginning to suspect research and experiments that she wouldn’t mind being distracted from, rather than catching up on sleep in an uncomfortable on-call room. After a few more minutes of searching, Cormac just sighed and took his phone out of his pocket knowing that if he kept peeking his head through doors that his colleagues may grow suspicious.

“Hello?” Meredith’s voice sounded confused and groggy when she answered the phone, just before Cormac felt like giving up. He felt guilty for waking her as he sat up on one of the empty gurney’s that lined the hallway, but he was glad to know that his initial assumption of her spending the shift sleeping had not been wrong.

“Grey, I’ve been looking for you everywhere” Cormac replied instead of greeting her with a traditional opening. He felt that after so many months of being friends with Meredith that they were well past the stage of exchanging greetings and making small talk, he’d always preferred to cut right to the chase “What on-call room are you in? I feel like I looked in them all”

“I’m not in an on-call room, I’m in my own bedroom” she replied through a yawn, making Cormac feel immediately apologetic. The only thing worse than a quiet night was being woken up randomly when you weren’t even at work “Why have you been looking for me? Wilson’s the one you should call for a consult tonight”

“It’s not for a consult, although I’m glad for the heads up. I thought I had seen your name on the roster for tonight” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He was definitely going to have to come up with some proper way of apologizing to her for this. Cormac knew that Meredith would probably deny her exhaustion if he saw her the next day, but he was a single working parent himself, he knew the toll that it took on a person “I’ve just found myself all caught up on my paperwork and looking for someone to hang out with for a bit”

“Ah, it’s one of those nights” Meredith replied, immediately understanding what he meant. Although the alarm clock by her bed was displaying the ridiculous time of 2:24AM at her, and every bit of body was telling her to hang up and go back to sleep, she began to move into a sitting position accepting the fact that she was wide awake now. “I was supposed to be working but instead Jo and I swapped shifts. She has an appointment Friday that she can’t reschedule or miss”

“You’re a good friend Grey'' Cormac stated honestly. He’d been a witness to dozens of instances where Meredith was there for the people she was close to, whether it was comforting Maggie Pierce after a devastating loss on the surgical floor, or talking in hushed whispers to Owen Hunt about what Cormac could only guess was his situation with Teddy Altman, Cormac knew that calling her a “good friend” was probably the understatement of the century. Originally, he’d been apprehensive of Meredith, he’d thought that given the fact Cristina Yang had claimed the woman as her sister that she must be as hard and proud as the cardiovascular surgeon, but Cormac had been surprised to learn of Meredith’s kinder side as he got to know her better. He himself had been the benefactor of her kindness as she explained the ropes and inner workings of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and although they claimed not to be gossips, kept him up to date on the drama that took place in the hospital. Despite her reputation for being kind-hearted though, Cormac doubted she’d want to keep him entertained over the phone when she’d probably much rather be sleeping “I’m sorry for waking you. I should probably let you head back to sleep…”

Although he could not see her, Meredith rolled her eyes at his words. She could’ve ignored his call, rolled over in her bed, and apologized to him in the morning but she had answered it even though she knew it would keep her awake longer than a mere few minutes and she didn’t want him to start feeling bad for her decision to pick up the call. Meredith could also hear the hesitancy in his voice when he said that he should let her go back to sleep, she knew how mind numbingly boring the nights at the hospital could be when it was quite and she felt that keeping him occupied for a little while was the least that she could do for her friend “Well, I think it’s too late for that now so what’s up?”

“Nothing which is the problem, I think everyone is either in a research lab, sleeping or doing their paperwork” Cormac laughed, and Meredith smiled to herself, wondering how the purpose of the phone call had momentarily slipped from her mind. Cormac was glad that she was willing to stay talking to him for a while, he’d been in Seattle for quite a while now, but it still felt like he was the new guy that hadn’t made many friends. If Meredith had been working, he’d have swanned into her office to hang out with her without fear, but he couldn’t imagine doing that with their other colleagues without growing nervous “I’m surprised you’re not whispering, I take it your kids are heavy sleepers?”

“Yes, they’ve spent a few years dealing with my occasional snoring so now they sleep like logs” Meredith admitted, feeling a tinge of heat across her cheeks as the admission made her blush. Only a handful of people had known that she snored including those she’d started her internship with and her late husband, it felt a bit odd to offer that information so freely when she’d spent years embarrassed by the facts “But also Zola and Bailey are both at sleepovers and if Ellis wakes up during the night, she tends to end up in Maggie’s room instead of mine”

“It must be nice, having your sisters there to help” Cormac commented, thinking back to the early days of parenthood where Abigail’s sister had been by their side to help whenever they needed her and whenever they didn’t. His own sister, Saoirse, was rather put out at the fact she couldn’t abandon her life in Ireland to help care for her nephews, as if it meant she was losing some sort of “best aunt” competition to Abigail’s sister. After Abigail’s death and he had confided in his sister that he decided that he and the boys needed to leave the states, she’d begged him to come home. She’d told him that she and their parents would help and that it’d be nice for her own children to spend time with their cousins but even the thought of them hovering around him and his boys in their grief was too smothering, so he settled on Zurich. Zurich had turned out to be exactly what they needed and what had led them to their new home of Seattle where the boys were settling in nicely but sometimes Cormac found himself wondering what their life would be like if he’d indulged his sister’s ideas and gone home to Ireland.

“It is and not just because of the free babysitting” Meredith replied with a slight laugh. It was hard to put into words just how thankful she was to have both Maggie and Amelia by her side, the trio had definitely had rocky times in the past but now Meredith felt as though their relationships were ones of stability, love, and respect. They were a proper family, one that now included Link and Scout as well as Winston, but Meredith knew that excluding people like Jackson, Jo or Bailey when she spoke of family was a disservice to how loyal, protective and wonderful her friends had been to her over the years and she felt the need to lament that fact to her friend “The thing about Grey Sloan is that we are all a family, we’re always just one call away when one of people needs us”

“Even when it’s nearly 3.00 AM?” Cormac asked her with a raised eyebrow and a hint of amusement in his tone. He’d worked many jobs in the past, from bars back home as he put himself through college to the Klausman Institute in Switzerland, and he could not think of one colleague from any of those places that would have been so okay with a late-night phone call. One night when they were both on-call, he’d shaken Cristina awake to do a consult and she had glared at him over the scans she held in her hand as he explained his concerns for the patient to her, he really could not imagine her being a member of the family that Meredith spoke of, but he supposed he still knew very little of how things worked in Seattle.

“Well, personally I prefer when people call me during actually waking hours but yes, even at 3.00 AM, I am only ever one call away”

“I have apologized for waking you right?” Cormac asked hesitantly, going over their call in his mind in the hopes that he’d apologized the right amount and her words were just gentle teasing. Meredith laughed after confirming that he had in fact apologized just the right amount and he’d breathed a sigh of relief before their conversation continued. He sat on the gurney in the hallway and she sat in her bed, talking about topics ranging from the latest update on the mess of Teddy, Owen, and Tom, to her plans to be more adventurous than just plain chocolate chip cookies for the bake sale at Zola’s school at the end of the week before his pager buzzed alerting him that he was needed in the pit. Although he’d been waiting for something to do all night, Cormac was a bit disappointed as he explained to Meredith that he had to go before they hung up.

Hanging out with Meredith at work had been something he’d really been enjoying as of late and as he worked headed to the pit, he couldn’t help but reflect on her words. Knowing that Meredith was only one call away, that when he was bored or the rare nights that he couldn’t sleep that calling her was an option, was a comforting fact and he hoped that it was something that worked the other way around. He’d only ever be one call away from her as well, because that's what you did for your friends and he hoped to be as good as a friend to Meredith as she seemingly was to everyone she knew.


	2. It's Nice To Have A Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! We're so glad you guys are enjoying this little project and are excited for the rest of the prompts! We really thrive off of/ enjoy hearing your comments and reviews of each of the story, it makes us so much more excited to post these every day! Today's one-shot is a bit of a shorter one, that I somehow ended up making incredibly angsty. We hope you enjoy!
> 
> Feb 2nd: It's Nice To Have A Friend - Merhayes' first time hanging out outside of the hospital (written by greyswidows)

Both Austin and Liam Hayes were out of their townhouse for the night, which left their father feeling incredibly discouraged to go home. Even if the boys weren’t down in the living room with him, Hayes enjoyed knowing that his kids were in the house somewhere. Nights without them reminded him just how much he missed Abby. And so, even though his shift had ended an hour ago, Hayes sat in his office, trying to waste as much time as possible before he had no other choice but to go home. 

Meredith was just about ready to head home for the night, checking in on one of her last patients before making her way out, when she noticed Hayes still sitting in his office, even though he was supposed to have been gone an hour before her. Curious, she knocked on his office door and poked her head in. “You’re here late.” She said with a half smile. “Austin and Liam are out for the night. I’ve never really gotten used to not having them there, so I was just passing the time until I had to leave.” He admitted to her. “Why don’t you come hang out at my place for a little while, then? My kids are out for a little while tonight, Amelia and Link are bringing them to some fair that they’ve been begging to go to for awhile now.” She immediately offered. Hayes was a little taken off-guard, they’d never actually hung out outside of the hospital before. Up until then, they’d seek each other out in the halls of Grey-Sloan whenever they were bored, or call each other if they needed someone to talk to. 

“That’s actually where Liam and Austin are as well, they’re just staying over at their friend’s houses afterwards.” He said with a smile at her. “Well, it’s up to you, but I’ve got whiskey and tequila at home and I’m sure it’d be better than sitting alone in an office for the next few hours.” Meredith laughed a little, and gave him a bright smile. “Sure, why not.” He finally answered, after giving it some thought. It might be nice to actually hang out with her for a little while, and get to know her a little better. “Great!” She smiled at him, then gave him her address. “I’ll see you in a few.” She told him with a small smile, and with that, she exited the office and made her way back to her house. 

30 minutes later, there was a small knock at her door. “Nice place, Grey.” Hayes said as Meredith opened the door and he stepped inside. “Thanks,” she smiled lightly. “So, I ordered pizza for us - I’m not sure what you like for toppings you like, so I just got pepperoni. Uh, I’ve got whiskey, tequila - and Link said you’re welcome to one or two of his beers, if you want, as well.” She said, taking his jacket and hanging it up. “Oh, you didn’t have to do that. But I wouldn’t mind a glass of whiskey.” She laughed a little as they entered the living room. “Well, I was going to order pizza for myself anyways, figured I could probably be a good host and order for my guest as well.” She smirked, entering the kitchen and pulling 2 glasses out of her cupboard. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it.” She smiled slightly and poured whiskey in one glass, and tequila in her own. 

Meredith passed Hayes his drink, and sat down at the other end of the couch. “It’s not easy being without the kids.” Hayes told Mer as he took a sip of his drink. “No, it’s not. Reminds you too much of what’s missing. The first night back home after running away was the worst. Stuck in this giant, beautiful house he’d built for us, with our 3 children, one of which was a newborn and he never got to meet. And you know, the kids were really young, so none of them really understood what was going on. It was hell.” Meredith downed her tequila and closed her eyes. “The boys were messes the first night back at the house after Abby died. I don’t think any of us slept. We fled to Zurich 8 days after Abby passed.” Meredith laughed a little. Hayes smiled, although he looked confused. “You know, sometimes I really wonder how much we have in common. I left for San Diego with Zola and Bailey 8 days after Derek died as well.” They both raised their eyebrows and chuckled a little. “I couldn’t stay in the house Derek built for us, after I came back. We were there for about a month before I moved back here with Alex and Jo.” Hayes nodded in understanding. 

“I was a resident when the boys were born, we definitely never had the time, energy, or money to think about building a house. I would have liked to, but…” Hayes’ voice trailed off. Meredith gave him an empathetic look, then poured more tequila in her glass. “We adopted Zola in my 5th year of residency, my first 4 years were too filled with boy drama, parent issues, almost dying a million times. I actually ended up getting pregnant in my 4th year of residency, but had a miscarriage because of the shooting. I was an attending when I had Bailey.” She smiled sadly. “I’m really sorry to hear that. I remember hearing about the shooting - back when we were living in Boston.” Silence lingered between them. “You know, we never told anyone this, but Abby had a miscarriage too. Uh, it happened when Liam was 1, she was 12 weeks along. It’s the worst grief we went through together. We were planning how we were going to tell our family and friends that we were expecting, right before it happened. It broke her, and I didn’t know how to help. Austin was... a miracle.” Silence filled the living room again as the two looked at each other with understanding and empathy. Hayes took another sip of his whiskey. 

They didn’t need to continue the conversation on, just the acknowledgement that they had someone else who understood their pain was enough. Hayes changed the topic, telling Meredith another story from his residency. Hayes didn’t drink too much since he needed to drive home that night, but they ate their pizza, and exchanged humorous tales from their days as interns and residents. Meredith showed Hayes some of the artifacts from her intern year, the height marks on the walls from herself and all her kids, the scratches on her ceiling from Izzie’s party, and laughed with him as she recalled some of her happier residency memories. 

It was 10 o’clock at night, and Hayes was just about to head out when Amelia and Link got home with the kids. “Oh, hey Hayes…” Amelia said, half-confused. “Mer, what-” She went on, before Hayes cut her off. “My boys are out of the house tonight, Grey just invited me over to hang out so I wasn’t home alone all night.” Amelia nodded suspiciously. “Oh, okay.” She said, putting Scout’s carrier down. Link waved hi to Hayes, then carried Ellis upstairs, since she was passed out. Bailey and Zola took their shoes off, said hello to their mom, and followed Link upstairs, clearly ready to pass out themselves. Amelia brought Scout upstairs to feed him, leaving Meredith downstairs alone with Hayes to say goodnight.

“So I guess I’ll see you later?” Hayes said as they stepped out onto her front porch. “Yeah, sounds good. And hey - Hayes?” She wrapped her cardigan around her, hugging her body as the night’s wind came rushing past them. He looked at her curiously, wondering what she was about to say next. “We should do this again sometime, I like talking to someone who gets it.” Hayes nodded. “It really is. Thanks for giving me a bit of a distraction tonight. I had fun. Night, Grey.” He said, nodding goodnight. “Me too. Night Hayes.” She waved goodbye as he got into his car, then headed back inside to tuck her kids in for the night, and spend some time with Amelia and Link before it was time for all the adults to head to sleep too. 


	3. Help!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lads and welcome to day 3 of the Navigation of the New and Unknown!!  
> I would like to take this opportunity to just say thank you all so much for the incredible feedback,  
> it truly does mean so much to the two of us. If you're enjoying these, then why not check out some of our other works once you're done? Trust me, it you've been enjoying this project, you will enjoy absolutely everything that greyswidows has written!
> 
> Feb 3rd: Help! - Merhayes' first time sharing good news with one another

**The Philip McGettigan Medical Research Fund.  
Now Accepting Amazing Ideas.**

The four words printed in black ink on the cover of the information packet seemed to grow even more mocking the more that Meredith focused on them. She’d read the information packet so many times that she could probably recite it from memory, yet the guidelines for what her proposal should include did nothing to inspire her to actually write it

“Now accepting amazing ideas” Meredith scoffed, reading the tagline aloud. She was alone in her office and although both her sisters and Webber had branded her current research as incredible, the process of applying for funding was making her doubtful. When Webber suggested that she apply for the McGettigan fund, he hadn’t missed the way that Meredith had tensed up. The grant was known to be one of the most difficult to secure as it received dozens of proposals every year and although she’d never admitted it to anyone, Meredith had always been too nervous to apply for it after having seen Derek get denied numerous times before. She may be a confident and capable award-winning surgeon but something about the tagline on the booklet, made her feel as though she was an intern trying to impress her attendings again. “I have amazing ideas, I can do this”

“You know Grey, they say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity”

“Very funny” Meredith replied sharply, not even the slightest bit embarrassed that her friend had discovered her talking to herself. Her eyes were fixated firmly on the blank document that was opened on her computer; she’d stayed late at the hospital to work on her proposal and the fact that an hour later it was still blank was only making her more frustrated. She’d much rather be at home having dinner with her kids than trying to prove why her idea was in fact amazing.

Sensing that she was rather frustrated Cormac raised his hands in defense as he ventured further into her office, undeniably curious as to what was bothering her. His eyes settled on the familiar information packet of the McGettigan Grant and he pursed his lips, knowing for himself just how mind wrecking the application process was “I was just on my way out, thought you’d be long gone by now”

“I thought I’d have a better chance of writing this here than at home, Ellis seems to think that every time I go on my laptop it’s to watch kids shows on Netflix and I don’t have the heart to disappoint her. I was trying to order a present for Link’s birthday the other day but instead watched three episodes of some mermaid show” Meredith admitted. Although she’d been rather adamant that she didn’t want to be distracted, she’d never pass up the opportunity to gush about her children.

“When my boys were her age I could never say no, thought it’d be something that would stop as they grew older, yet Austin still has a way with puppy dog eyes” Cormac shook his head, picking up the information packet and briefly flicking through the pages “I’m surprised you’re actually dealing with the application process, I thought people would bang down the doors in order to fund your research projects after the surgery on Hunt’s sister and the mini livers”

“I wish” Meredith sighed “I don’t suppose you know anything about the McGettigan grant, do you? I don’t think I’ll get this done without some guidance”

“I’ve been turned down three times” Cormac replied biting his bottom lip, he knew that she probably would have preferred a pep talk rather than hear about his failures in securing the same funding she was after, but he didn’t think he was the best person for the job. Meredith groaned throwing her head back in her chair and although he was eager to get home, Cormac knew that he’d feel guilty if he didn’t at least try to help her so he set his bag down and took the chair opposite her “Which means I am quite familiar with what you don’t want to do, so between the two of us Grey, I think we can figure this out”  
-  
When Cormac heard the loud footprints of someone running down the hallway towards his office, his heart had sped up because he couldn’t think of any time that someone running in the hospital had led to something good. He was surprised when Meredith appeared in the doorway with a wide grin on her reddened face rather than a panicked expression like he’d expected “I got it! I got the McGettigan grant”

“What? Really?” he stood up from his chair, feeling just as excited as she was about the news. It had been weeks since they’d sat in her office writing and rewriting her application, it had probably been one of the most frustrating tasks that either of them had ever completed within the hospital but somehow, they’d managed to construct something that Meredith had confidence in submitting. Since then, he’d listened to her complain about how often everyone from Maggie to Helm asked about if she’d heard anything, and then go on to rant about how she hadn’t.

“I just got the email as I walked into work,” she told him, unlocking her phone, and pulling up the email to show him. His eyes scanned over the email and couldn’t help but grin, he knew how much work she’d been putting into her research as of late and now that she had the funding, Cormac knew that she was only going to do bigger and better things.

“And what have the others said? I’d imagine Shepherd and Pierce went crazy.” Cormac asked, he’d seen the way that Meredith’s sisters constantly showed up for her and he was interested in how they would celebrate this particular achievement. If he was honest, he had spent the last few weeks trying to come up with a gift that would be suitable to congratulate Meredith on securing the funding or to cheer her up on the off chance that she didn’t.

“I haven’t told them yet” Meredith admitted, not noticing how wide her friend’s eyes had grown at the admission. Since he’d started working at the hospital, he’d seen how tight-knit the sisters were and had assumed that they were always one another’s first confidants. He was both surprised and touched that she had come to him first “You were the one who helped me, and I wanted you to be the first one I told, it’s our achievement”

“No Grey, it’s all yours,” he told her honestly. He was pretty confident that she could’ve secured the funding herself but found it refreshing that she wanted to share the achievement, usually, surgeons were so egotistical that they were quick to forget those who helped them. Like always though, Meredith was a breath of fresh air. “We should celebrate, how about drinks tonight if you're free?”

“I was just about to suggest the same thing,” she told him, unsurprised that he had been on the same wavelength as her. “I want to buy you one or two to say thank you”

“You don’t have to do that Grey; you know I’m always here to help”


	4. Walk With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! greyswidows here - we are seriously so blown away and appreciative of everyone's reception to this little project of ours! We really can't thank everyone enough! Today's fic was written by me, and fair warning, it is angsty and SAD. But I love how it turned out. The title was inspired by Walk With Me by Goldford, which was the song playing behind Merhayes' surgery in 17.02. I love it so much, it's such a beautiful song, and I think it suits the subject of this prompt so well. I really hope you all enjoy the fic. Thanks again for the support and feel free to drop a comment!
> 
> Today's fic: Walk With Me - Meredith cries in front of Hayes for the first time (written by greyswidows)

The news of plane crashes always sent Meredith into a blind panic, as she recalled her own plane crash years back that took the life of her sister, and one of her best friends. It was a day that haunted her almost every day of her life. Another day that haunted her was the anniversary of Derek’s death. Holding her husband as he took his final breath, the sound of the flatline, the pin-drop silence in the room afterwards. There were days where she was okay, she was happy, laughing, letting those memories leave her mind for a little while. And then there were the days where it felt like she was back out in the woods, listening to the screaming from Cristina and Arizona, crying out for Derek, trying to gain a sense of security as they lay stranded, dying and in pain in the middle of nowhere, knowing that their families and friends back at home had no clue of their whereabouts or what’d happened to them, all of their minds left with little to no hope of being rescued or ever seeing their loved ones again. And then the feeling of standing next to Derek on his deathbed would return to her body all over again, the feeling of him breathing out one last time, the feeling of his heart slowly fading to a flatline, the pain in her chest as she finally left his room to go face her young children and tell them that daddy wasn’t coming home. Those were the days where she needed someone the most. This was one of those days.

Just as Meredith had gotten out of a very long, draining surgery, she received a text from Bailey that read,  _ ‘Come to the pit ASAP. Plane crash. Victims on their way now.’  _ Meredith’s breath hitched as she read the words and her vision began tunneling. This couldn’t be happening today. She’d already been trying to keep ahold of herself since the moment she woke up. It’d been the eve of the 6 year anniversary of Derek’s passing, and with every little interaction throughout the day, she tried to hold herself together - keep herself professional and composed. The news of the plane crash was enough to send her into a spiral. Her breathing got heavy and rapid, the world went dizzy as she shoved her phone in her pocket and found herself on the ground of the nearest supply closet, trying to control her breathing. 

The last time this happened Derek had been there for her. He held her as she held a brown paper bag to her face, trying to stabilize her breathing. The last time there’d been a plane crash, Arizona had been there. She had someone else who was on their plane with her, they could be there for each other. Now, she was alone. Derek was gone. Arizona had left. Cristina had left. Mark and Lexie had died. She was all alone. 

Or so she thought. Hayes had seen her looking distraught as she walked into the supply closet, and had followed closely behind. He had knocked on the door of the closet ever so slightly, and when she hadn’t responded, he carefully walked in. She hadn’t even noticed him there. “Grey?” He asked, concerned as he stood against the door. Her head shot up at the voice, and once she saw that it was Hayes, she relaxed again and hung her head low again. He quickly locked the door and sat down beside her. “What can I do?” He asked, looking at her empathetically. Her mind swirled with different thoughts, and she felt a tear slip down her cheek. “Just being here is enough.” She said quietly. He knew that today was the day before  _ that  _ anniversary, so he rested his head against the wall and quietly placed his hand on her knee. 

Her tears began to flow at his touch, and he moved his hand from off her knee to around her shoulder, and she gratefully rested her head on his shoulder as her tears fell. She’d never cried in front of him before, but she knew he understood part of it, and for that she felt safe, and she was grateful. He comforted her for another 10 minutes or so in complete silence, before her breathing finally slowed down and she gained control of her thoughts. She brought her head up to look at him and forced a small smile on her face as she wiped her tears away. “This day has never gotten easier.” She admitted as he moved his arm out from around her and sat up a bit more straight so he could give her his full attention while she talked.

Hayes could only nod in response to Meredith’s statement. He knew that feeling all too well. “The news of the plane crash just brought back so many memories.” Meredith continued, closing her eyes and leaning her head back on the wall. He looked at her, slightly confused. “We were in a plane crash a long time ago. In my 5th year, right before I became an attending. I lost my sister and one of my friends in that crash.” Hayes nodded slowly, remembering the few times Cristina had mentioned her disdain for planes and flying due to an ‘incident’ on a plane in her 5th year, as she described it. “Yang was there too, wasn’t she?” He asked, only pressing for as much information as he needed to get a solid grasp of the full situation. “Yeah. She was. Me, Cristina, Derek, Arizona, Mark, and Lexie.” Meredith’s voice cracked at the mention of her sister. 

“6 years ago today we had plane crash victims in Seattle. Derek hadn’t been answering his phone all day, I was worried out of my mind, and the plane crash was pretty triggering.” Hayes nodded ever so slightly. “I just didn’t expect it to ever happen again, especially not on this day.” Meredith admitted as she closed her eyes again, trying to stop herself from tearing up again. Hayes didn’t try to say anything, because as best as he tried, he knew this pain was something he couldn’t understand. It just gave him a bigger picture as to who his friend was. 

“I can’t stop thinking about who I used to be, before the kids, before the boy drama, before being a doctor. Just me and my friend backpacking around Europe, not a care in the world. I miss that Meredith. I miss being carefree, and spontaneous. No obligations. No surprise sisters or constant death. I miss the Meredith I used to be, and I guess I want her back. I don’t want to be broken and hurting all the time anymore.” She wiped away more tears as she poured her heart out to the one person who might vaguely understand her and be there for her without pitying her. Hayes thought long and hard about how to respond to Meredith’s admission of defeat and sadness. It hurt him to hear these words coming from his friend, who he admired for her unwavering strength, even through all she’d suffered. 

“You know, I haven’t known you as long as everyone else has. But I don’t think you’re broken. Ever since we met, you’ve been a force to be reckoned with. You were the one to look out for, the force of nature that couldn’t be stopped or slowed down. And even with all you’ve gone through, I wouldn’t say you’ve lost yourself at all. Sure, you might’ve needed mending here and there - but haven’t we all? You’ve always come out stronger on the other side. And now your children have this incredible role model to look up to, because everything you’ve been through has shaped you into the person sitting beside me right now. I don’t know everything, but I think you should be proud of yourself and who you’ve become, even against all odds.” Hayes finished telling her, and a small smile appeared on Meredith’s face. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.” She said after a few moments of silence, and she pulled him in for a hug. 

“Any time.” They pulled away from their hug, and Hayes stood up, reaching his hands out to pull Meredith to her feet. “Now, you don’t have to treat the plane crash victims if you feel like it’ll be too triggering. But you also have the chance to save someone’s life who otherwise might not survive without your surgical expertise.” Hayes told her with a small smile, to which she smirked and playfully hit his shoulder. “Let’s go, there will probably be a kid or two that needs you in the pit as well.” She wiped the last of her tears, and shook herself down before turning around to unlock the door. “You know, I still don’t understand why you guys call it the pit…” He said behind her as they exited the room, to which she laughed and explained that she didn’t know why they called it that either, it’d just been the name they used for the ER ever since their intern year. 

Meredith was thankful to Hayes for being there for her when she needed someone most, and talking her down from a spiral that could have led to a trashed supply closet, or dark thoughts that would’ve ended her back up in therapy. She knew Derek must have somehow sent Hayes in, and she knew that Derek was there with her in that closet through Hayes, because Hayes understood her pain the most. He’d always known who and what she’d needed most. And she was grateful to her friend for being so intuitive to what she needed to hear, whether it be silence, encouragement, or just simple understanding and acknowledgment. 


	5. Rumour Has It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lads, thanks for reading, commenting, and leaving us kudos! It's been so lovely to see your reactions to these fics and just know that some of the best are yet to come ;) Today's one includes some of our favourite headcanons including Levi pursuing peds and the Hayes and Avery friendship that we deserve...enjoy...
> 
> Feb 5th - The first time someone mistakes Meredith and Cormac for a couple (written by me, So_Uncreative)

“What’s up?” Jackson asked as he took a seat at the table in the attendings' lounge next to Cormac, who looked rather depleted. Jackson wracked his brain to try and remember if any trauma cases around children had come into the pit that morning that would explain the peds surgeon mood but came up short. As far as he could remember the only thing that Cormac had on the surgical board were a few appendectomies that Jackson believed the man could probably do with his eyes shut.  
“Schmitt’s spending the week in Napa with Dr. Kim”

“And you’re moping about that because…” Jackson raised his eyebrows at the man. It was common knowledge that over the past few months that Levi had become Cormac’s favorite resident, the younger surgeon showed a great talent for peds cases and had formed a bond with Cormac that nobody quite understood. Jackson would be the first to admit that their dynamic as an attending and resident was one that reminded him of what he’d had with Mark Sloan, but he couldn’t think of a reason that Schmitt being on a romantic getaway would upset Cormac so much.

“I’m not the biggest fan of change,” Cormac admitted awkwardly, hoping that his friend understood the reason for his mood. It wasn’t that he couldn’t operate without Schmitt by his side, it’s just that he preferred to. The resident knew his quirks and was quite pleasant to work alongside, it felt odd being in the OR without Levi because having him there to boss around had become part of Cormac’s surgical routine “I know that everyone needs some rest and relaxation, but I can’t help but be a bit pissed with Dr. Kim for whisking Schmitt off on a romantic getaway”

“I honestly don’t know how they even got the time off together,” Jackson told him with a soft chuckle “When April and I were together, we’d have to beg months in advance to get time off together for vacations and I was a board member”

“I think they bribed Bailey by promising to bring back some sort of fancy wine,” Cormac replied. When he’d learned that Levi was going to be in Napa for the week, he’d sent the resident a text asking him to bring a particular wine back for him and had a feeling Bailey had done the same. Cormac wasn’t necessarily a wine drinker, he preferred a good whiskey and would stray to a Dingle Gin if the mood struck him, but he knew that Meredith was a fan of a glass after work and thought it would be nice to give her a bottle as a gift.

“Might be something to keep in mind when you decide to whisk Meredith off for a weekend, that bribery is effective” Jackson joked, growing confused when Cormac just stared at him blankly. “Oh, are you guys not in the romantic getaway stage of your relationship yet?”

“Relationship?” Cormac repeated with raised eyebrows as if the words out of Jackson’s mouth had been the most shocking thing that he’d ever heard. He couldn’t believe that Jackson thought that he and Meredith were a couple and struggled to come up with any logical reasons that his friend might have made the assumption. “Mate, Meredith and I aren’t together. We’re just friends”

“Really?” Jackson squinted, not quite believing Cormac’s denial. Jackson had spent ages denying that he had feelings for April to everyone and had even hidden their marriage for a short period of time, it wouldn’t surprise him if Meredith and Cormac were doing something similar. It was easier to navigate a new relationship without the constant judgment and input, but Jackson thought that he and Cormac were close enough by now to trade secrets.

“Yes, really” Cormac stated so firmly that Jackson was inclined to believe him. Cormac was well aware that he had meant no offense, but the idea that people were making assumptions about his friendship with Meredith bothered him for reasons that he didn’t quite understand at that moment. “Why would you think we were anything more?”

“I’m… not sure really” Jackson lied, he could think of many reasons that he had assumed the pair were dating. He’d seen a spark return to Meredith’s eyes as she and Cormac grew closer, a spark that he’d not seen in her eyes for years since Derek’s passing and he’d seen the way Cormac’s eyes searched for Meredith to see her reaction whenever he made a joke. It was little moments like those that had led to him and some of their friends assuming that more existed between the pair, but he wasn’t about to tell Cormac that. “I think it’s just because of how often you two spend time together that I just assumed, I’m sorry”

“There’s no need to apologize” Cormac sighed, feeling slightly bad for how defensive he’d grown. He knew that in the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital that gossip about relationships and drama was inevitable, hell he’d spent lunch breaks and phone calls with Meredith gossiping about the latest in the Teddy, Owen, and Tom saga and complimenting how well Levi and Nico suited one another, but he’d never expected that his friendship with Meredith would be dragged into the rumour mill. Cormac and Jackson swiftly changed conversation topics when Jo walked into the attendings' lounge with Carina, gossiping about Maggie and Winston. Cormac was satisfied that Jackson now knew that he and Meredith were friends, but Jackson’s initial comment continued to linger in his thoughts for quite some time after, especially when he was alone - and even more so when he was alone with Meredith.


	6. Can't Fight This Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Today's fic is probably the one I am the most proud of. Inspiration had struck at just the right time and I curated up a piece that I look back on and am just. so. happy with. I really hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Feb 6th: Can't Fight This Feeling - The first moments when Meredith and Hayes realize they like each other (written by greyswidows)

If you asked him who his best friend was, Cormac Hayes would answer ‘Meredith Grey’ in less than a split second. They were two peas in a pod - if you were looking for one, you could usually find the other. They spent their free time together, roaming the halls of Grey-Sloan Memorial, cracking dumb jokes or gossiping about the consistently revolving door of new hospital relationships and drama. If Maggie or Amelia was looking for her, the first place they looked was always his office. Hayes paged her to assist in every surgery that needed a general surgeon. They were inseparable. Hayes knew when he met Meredith that she was something special, but he couldn’t have predicted that she’d become his second-half. The person who understood him most in the world. And he certainly couldn’t have predicted that one day, he’d fall for her. 

And if you asked Cormac Hayes the moment he realized he liked Meredith Grey as more than a friend, he could describe the moment in perfect detail, down to the very second he understood that the butterflies in his stomach and heart palpitations were more than just nerves before a surgery, and that they were the same feelings he got when he first locked eyes with Abby. He’d tell you that he’d probably been experiencing these feelings for Meredith for quite some time, he just didn’t want to believe that he’d been having feelings for another woman other than Abby. But the day he accepted it - the day he understood that his feelings for Meredith surpassed friendship,  _ the moment  _ he looked at her, heard her laugh, and immediately knew that something had shifted within him… well that is a day Cormac Hayes doesn’t think he’ll ever forget, for as long as he lives. 

The day started completely normal, the two attendings grabbed their coffee from the coffee cart outside, talking about something completely random as they walked in the foyer of Grey-Sloan Memorial. They’d made plans to get drinks after work that day, since they both got off fairly early, and they hadn’t hung out outside of work in close to two weeks, thanks to their busy work schedules. They each had a few elective procedures during the day, and had other surgeons on-call if peds or general surgery were needed in the ER. They’d sat down in the attendings lounge, and Meredith was aimlessly ranting about her residents while Hayes listened closely. Somewhere along the lines, their conversation shifted from work to home life, and these were the moments leading up to Hayes’ realization. 

He could remember her looking right in his eyes, smiling as she talked about something Ellis had done the night before. He’d looked down, laughed, and told a short, funny, memory of Austin from when his son was about the same age as Ellis. That was the moment that changed everything for Hayes. He remembered looking back up at her after telling the story, hearing her laugh at what he’d just told her. He remembered seeing her smile, her eyes were bright, and sparkling. He remembered that his first thought after looking at her wasn’t to continue talking, or to come up with something else that was witty. No, the first thing that came to Hayes’ mind was that he may as well have been looking at the most beautiful person he’d ever laid eyes on, and that her laugh and smile was something he wanted to see and hear every day for the rest of his life. 

He was taken aback by the startling thoughts that’d crept their way into his mind, but on the exterior he kept it cool, calm, and collected, so that Meredith wouldn’t see the thoughts he’d had about her creeping across his face. He always thought Meredith was beautiful, but he couldn’t ever remember looking at her in this light before. He thought back to when Jackson had told him that he thought that he and Meredith were already together. Was it possible that he’d always had feelings for Meredith, and that it was evident to everyone else except himself? Did Meredith already know and was acting kind as a courtesy? The thoughts of curiosity raced through his mind as he continued on his conversation with her, until she went to adjust her hair. Then all he could focus on was her hair, how it perfectly framed her face, how the blonde accentuated her bright blue eyes… all Hayes could think about was the fact that the woman sitting in front of him was perfect, in that moment, every moment past, and every moment going forward. 

They parted ways to get to their patients, and all throughout surgery, all Hayes could think about was how he didn’t want to ruin his perfect friendship with Meredith, and take the chance of telling her that he liked her, only to find out that she didn’t feel the same way. The thought of possibly putting a dent in, or possibly even ruining, the friendship he cherished most in life over feelings of love that he knew he could eventually get over if he tried hard enough, scared Hayes enough for him to promise himself that he wouldn’t tell Meredith that he liked her unless he knew with absolute certainty that she liked him back. 

And she did, but he didn’t know that. Not yet, at least. Meredith Grey was a master at keeping her true feelings under the covers - you could never guess truly what she was feeling unless you were Cristina Yang. And though Cormac had become another person for Meredith, and knew Cristina, he didn’t have Cristina’s sick intuition for knowing Meredith’s feelings at any given moment. 

Meredith Grey knew from the moment she met Cormac Hayes that there was something different about him - certain qualities about him that she couldn’t quite name or put a proper finger on, but she almost always knew they were destined to be more than just friends. It made too much sense. Of course, that was also the reason Meredith never actually thought anything would happen. They made  _ too  _ much sense. They would be perfect. And lord knows that nothing in Meredith Grey’s life ever made sense or went perfectly. So, she avoided catching deep feelings for her best friend like the black plague. Or, at least she tried to avoid it. There was one moment she could recall that changed things for her, and made her feel like a relationship with Hayes might actually be something worth pursuing. 

Meredith’s love of Grey-Sloan’s nursery never went away. Any time she’d had a hard day and needed some cheering up, she found herself wandering to the 5th floor nursery, with all the sleeping and swaddled freshly newborn babies. She reasoned that she loved seeing the babies because they were so innocent, so unbothered and untouched by the harsh realities of life. They’d never experienced anything but pure love and nurturing. She didn’t know if she could fully explain why, but babies gave her hope. Hope that someday, things might turn out okay for her, and life might be simple. 

It was on one of the days that she’d made her way to the nursery window, hoping for a quick pick me up, that Meredith found hope and simplicity in more than just the babies laying in their cots. Out of the corner of her eye, as she watched the tiny humans lay unbothered in their blankets, she realized that Hayes was in the nursery as well. He hadn’t even noticed her in the window for a solid few minutes, and the entire time Meredith watched as Hayes bounced and rocked the little baby back and forth, smiling at them and letting them grab at his fingers. She noticed her heart was racing, something about the sight of him with that baby made her realize that she should let herself fall for him, and take a chance on finding simplicity in life.

When he finally noticed her standing there, he looked up at her and flashed her a small smile. Meredith’s heart skipped a beat at his smile, and she quickly found herself falling without any second thoughts. Her breath hitched a little as he tilted his head, motioning for her to come inside instead of staring from the window. She opened the door, putting on one of the peds gowns. “You know, Grey. I knew women liked window shopping, but I’ve never met anyone who window shops for babies…” He cracked a grin from across the room, and she swore it felt like her heart was glowing as she laughed and made her way over to his side. Of course, this never showed on her face, but internally, her feelings were off the charts. 

“I’ve always liked looking at the babies after a hard day. They’re so innocent, I guess they just represent hope and simplicity to me.” She told him as she stood behind him, peering over his arm at the tiny baby he was holding in his arms. “Want to hold her for a bit?” He said in a slight whisper as he turned to her. “Can I?” She asked, her eyes lighting up at the newborn who was wide awake and staring right at her. Gently, he placed the baby in Meredith’s arms, and for a second, her world stopped. Nothing else mattered except her, Hayes, and this newborn baby girl. “Hi baby…” She cooed as she rocked the baby lightly. “She was surrendered to the fire station this morning. They think she was only born yesterday.” Hayes explained as he ran his hand lightly over the baby’s head. Meredith held out her finger and the baby gripped onto it almost immediately.

“She’s pretty perfect, isn’t she?” Hayes asked, looking between both Meredith and the baby. “Oh, she is. Reminds me of when Ellis was born. I miss when they were this little.” When she looked up from the baby to Hayes, he was already looking at her. They both immediately locked eyes and smiled at each other for a little while. Meredith felt like they were the only ones in that room. They chatted quietly for a little while longer, until the baby had to be taken away for a few more exams. They took off their gowns and exited the nursery, then stopped and looked in the window again as they left. 

“Did that help with the bad day?” Hayes asked, looking at Meredith while she looked at the babies in the nursery again. “Yeah. Yeah it did. Thank you.” She said with a smile, not breaking her gaze from the babies. “Sometimes you just need a little innocence and simplicity in your life.” He said, looking at the babies as well. “Yeah. Simplicity. It does a person wonders.” She looked at him and smiled warmly. Little did he know that she was talking about more than just the nursery filled with babies. She was also talking about them, and herself taking the step to embrace the simple, the sensible, the perfection that a relationship between the two of them could be. Of course, she wasn’t going to tell him that  _ just  _ yet.


	7. Taking Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for all the feedback and love! The two of us are just blown away by how many people seem to be enjoying this project of ours!
> 
> Feb 7th - First kiss...enjoy...

“You look really nice” Cristina stated with a raised eyebrow in a way of greeting once Meredith had accepted her request for a video call. It was 2.00 AM in Zurich meaning Cristina was curled up amongst her various blankets and pillows and although it was only 6.00 PM in Seattle, she’d expected her best friend to be in a similar position. When they’d been texting earlier, Meredith had mentioned that she had the night off and the last thing Cristina expected when she called was to see Meredith so dressed up “Do you have a date?” 

“No” Meredith shook her head as she rooted through her jewellery box, once again Zola and Ellis had raided it when playing dress up and although she was struggling to find the specific necklace she wanted, she couldn’t bring herself to be mad at the girls. Meredith frowned as she noticed the gold chain necklace tangled amongst another and she sighed as she began to unknot them “I’m just hanging out with Cormac, he’s bringing takeout”

Hearing Meredith use the man’s first name shouldn’t have been such a big deal, yet it made Cristina’s eyebrows raise slightly, addressing one another by their first names was such a small act of intimacy between surgeons that showed their friendships. Cristina was certain that even though she and Cormac had been close friends, she had only ever addressed him by his first name a handful of times leading up to his departure from the Klausman Institute   
“He’s coming over to eat with everyone? I thought you said getting takeout for everyone was an almost impossible task” 

“Oh, it is! It’s just me and him though. The kids demanded a sleepover at the place Amelia and Link are moving into, so they’re staying with them tonight and Maggie is working tonight.”

“So, you do have a date” Cristina replied, confused as to why Meredith had denied it when she’d asked earlier. Cristina had basically sent the man to Seattle for Meredith; she didn’t understand why her best friend felt the need to hide the progression of their relationship from her. “I mean, I’m pretty sure having food with the guy you’re into constitutes as a date.” 

“I thought one of us had to ask the other out for it to be a date.” Meredith replied, still focused on the necklace that she was trying to untangle. She was telling herself that she was making an effort with how she looked because it would be a nice change from constantly wearing scrubs, but she knew that a small part of her was dressing nicely in the hopes of catching Cormac’s attention “I really like him Cristina, he’s funny and smart and kind. He’s-“

“Perfect for you, I know.” Cristina cut across her friend, not particularly excited about the idea of listening to Meredith gush about the peds surgeon. Cristina’s own love life had hit a bit of a rough patch and while she was happy for Meredith, there was only so much she could handle. “I think you should take a chance, if he gives any indication that he likes you, kiss him.”

“And what if I get it wrong?” Meredith asked in a defeated tone. The last thing she wanted to do was make a fool of herself in front of Cormac, his friendship meant far too much to her. She knew it had happened gradually, him becoming such an important part of her life. They understood each other in ways that nobody else could and the time they spent together; those moments were some of the rare moments of joy within her busy schedule.

“Then you stick it out, if anyone can survive an awkward encounter Meredith, it’s you.”

-

Shortly after Meredith and Cristina hung up the phone, Meredith was sitting at her kitchen table across from Cormac. In between bites of the fettuccine alfredo that he’d proudly presented her with when he arrived, he was telling her about one of his more frustrating surgical cases, but Meredith couldn’t focus on the words he was saying. She couldn’t help but absentmindedly twirl her pasta on her fork as she dwelled on what Cristina has said about how she should take a chance. Cormac let himself ramble on for a few more brief moments before placing his fork down on his plate and raising his eyebrows at his friend.  
“Are you alright Meredith? You seem to be in a world of your own.”

“Sorry, I was just thinking about something Cristina said earlier'' Meredith shook her head in the hopes that she could eliminate Cristina’s words from her mind. She’d been debating it since the moment that he’d arrived and had decided that taking a chance was just simply something that she couldn’t do. Meredith knew that she had to talk to him first, figure out what he was feeling before she risked making a fool of herself. Cormac paused for a second, his mind running with ideas of what Cristina could possibly have said, before he had the chance to enquire, Meredith spoke again “You know, all my life, I jumped into things without considering the consequences. I didn’t think twice, I just jumped and hoped I wouldn’t fall, and Cristina told me that if I did it again with this, I’d be okay. That I could stick it out because I’ve taken so many risky chances before, but I don’t think I could. I don’t think I could live with myself if I blindly jumped into this and ruined one of the best parts about my life”

“I’m… not sure I’m really following.” Cormac, looked at Meredith, confused. He understood that she was talking about something she’d been contemplating, and doubting had been causing her anxiety, but he couldn’t tell what. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed, knowing she was about to tell Cormac the only secret she’d ever kept from him, because she couldn’t lie to him. 

“Us. Uh, this wasn’t the way I planned on telling you, I don’t know if I actually wanted to tell you at all, but I can’t lie to you. You’re my best friend. So, the truth is that I like you, as more than just a friend.” Meredith didn’t meet Cormac’s eyes once as she spoke although he couldn’t peel his gaze away from her. Meredith kept speaking but all Cormac could think about was the fact she’d said she liked him as more than just a friend, those words were both something that he’d longed to hear and longed to say. “Cristina wanted me to make a move, she encouraged me to take that chance and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I don’t think I want to take the chance of destroying our friendship in the event that you don’t like me… like that… as well.” 

Meredith stuffed a forkful of pasta into her mouth so that she could stop talking, she’d never really been one to ramble away and as she spoke, she’d been praying for Cormac to say something. He was silent for a second before standing up and Meredith could already feel her heart breaking in her chest as she swallowed her food, waiting for him to grab his keys and leave. She was surprised when he came to stand next to her and gently took her head in his hand, moving her head ever so much so that she was forced to look up at him. His touch made her feel as though her skin was on fire. 

Any fear that Meredith might have previously had evaporated as she stood up, neither of them said anything, both too scared to break the electric atmosphere that had enveloped the room. Meredith stood up slowly, as if any sudden moves would spook the man, and he placed a chaste hesitant kiss on her lips.

It was perfect but didn’t satisfy either of their needs and before they knew it, their lips were joined once again. Meredith had let her hands wrap around his neck once he’d put his hands around her waist in an attempt to pull her even closer and as their kiss grew more passionate, the more it felt as though their bodies were melting together. Once they broke the kiss, still holding one another close, Cormac smiled down at Meredith who wore an equally wide grin “I have been trying to figure out a way to tell you how I felt for quite awhile now, I figure that just about does it.”

“I guess it does” There were so many more things that Meredith wanted to say to him in that moment but none of them felt quite right so instead, she just kissed him softly once again and felt joyful in the knowledge that she would probably do it a few more times before the night was out. “We should probably finish our dinner, before it gets cold.”  
“I suppose you’re right, but how would you feel about eating it on the couch? I feel like I’m too far away from you for this to be a romantic date”

“Oh, so this is a date?” Meredith asked as she grabbed both of their plates and led him to the living room so that they could sit closer. Cormac only nodded as he followed her in with the bottle of wine that they’d yet to pour and their glasses in hand.

“I mean, I think it is now.” He admitted as he let himself sink into the couch cushions beside her. “If you asked anyone at the hospital, any time we’ve hung out lately has apparently been a date, did I tell you that Avery thought we were a couple?”

“He was probably talking to Cristina; she’s been teasing me about you for weeks now.” Meredith admitted leaning forward to pour the drinks. Cormac couldn’t help but appreciate how gorgeous she looked as she handed him his drink and smiled at the fact that it was something he could now tell her. Meredith blushed as she thanked him for the compliment before grinning. “I propose a toast”

“To what?”

“To taking chances”


	8. Next To Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that we're in the week leading up to Valentine's day, and Meredith and Hayes have finally kissed, these fics are going to get a lot more romance-based (for the most part). We are so glad you're all enjoying these fics and we're especially grateful for all the love on the past 2 chapters. Today's fic includes a former character from Meredith's past and once I got in my groove with it, I had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm proud of how it turned out. Enjoy!
> 
> Feb. 8th: Next To Me - Meredith and Hayes reveal to their friends that they're officially dating (written by greyswidows)

For the first few days after their first kiss, Meredith and Hayes felt like they were in a bit of a grey area in their relationship. They weren’t seeing anyone else, and they flirted and kissed when they found time alone, but neither of them had felt the need to formally declare the status of their relationship. “Hey, Mer?” Hayes asked as he entered the attending's lounge and saw her sitting alone at the table. “Hmm?” She responded, looking up from her phone. “What… are we?” He said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Meredith tilted her head and a confused look formed on her face.

“What do you mean?” She asked curiously as he sat down beside her. “I just mean, we never really put a label on our relationship. I don’t know if we can say we’re dating since we haven’t technically been on a proper date yet, which is something we’ve got to get around to. I guess I was curious as to what you think we are, if putting a label on this is something you want to do.” Meredith could tell that this was something Hayes had been thinking about a lot, just based off how nervous he was. She’d been thinking about it too, but never really remembered to bring it up. She smiled at him sweetly, “I consider the night of our first kiss our first date as well, so as long as you’re comfortable with it, I’d think it’s safe to say we’re dating.” Hayes breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled at Meredith. “Okay good, because I really want to call you my girlfriend.”

“Then that’s what I am. But you do still have to take me on an actual date.” Meredith smiled cheekily at him, and Hayes laughed. There was a lightness in the air knowing they’d finally officially declared their relationship status, but for both of their sake, they agreed to keep the relationship secret for the first couple of weeks. It wasn’t until Bailey had asked them both to attend and speak at a conference in California alongside Maggie, Amelia, Tom, and Link, that they knew their little secret would be revealed. And most likely on accident too, while they were all having cocktails and spilling secrets like only tipsy people could. Either that, or one of Meredith’s sisters would catch them kissing and would spread the word like wildfire. So, they decided this conference would be the perfect way to let it slip that they were officially dating on their own terms. What they couldn’t expect, though, was to also run into people from Meredith’s past.

They sat together on the plane, and were lucky enough to have Amelia, Link, Tom, and Maggie sitting far enough away that they could hold hands during the flight. Hayes had been informed of Meredith's past traumas with planes and made sure to pay close attention to his girlfriend's anxiety levels throughout the short trip. He never opened the window, and held her closer if there was turbulence. Meredith was incredibly appreciative of this, and made sure to thank him with a kiss when they got off the plane and got alone. The group went and checked into their hotel before making their way down to the conference. Amelia and Link were sharing a hotel room, and Meredith and Maggie were sharing a room as well. Tom and Hayes each had single rooms, which would give Meredith plenty of opportunities to spend time in Hayes' room in the evening and into the night. 

They'd decided that they would try holding hands in the public space and see which of the other Grey-Sloan doctors would notice first and make a comment about it. Or at least, that's what they figured would happen. Of course that's not what happened at all. "Meredith Grey," a familiar accent rang through the foyer of the conference hall. With her hand clasped firmly in Hayes', Meredith looked up to face none other than her former flame, Nathan Riggs. "Long time no see." He said with a smile as he approached the pair. "Nathan, it's nice to see you." Meredith said with a smile. Hayes looked at the man across from him, confused as to how he knew Meredith and what his deal was. Nathan noticed Hayes' tense energy and firm grasp on Meredith's hand. He chuckled, and said "Mer, are you going to introduce me to your boyfriend here?" Meredith simply laughed a little and said, "right, Nathan Riggs, Cormac Hayes." 

The men extended and shook hands. "Nice to meet you mate, though I do wonder how you and Meredith know each other?" Hayes asked, still curious as to how the other man knew his girlfriend. "Ah right - I worked at Grey-Sloan a few years back, Grey and I kind of had a thing before my presumed-dead then-fiancee turned out to be alive." Meredith chuckled at Nathan's depiction of the situation. Hayes nodded, still a little confused, but satisfied that he got a little bit of background. "How is Megan, by the way?" Meredith asked as Hayes wrapped his arm around her waist, relaxing. "Oh she's doing fantastic, the scars on her abdomen from the surgery are practically unnoticeable and she's just ecstatic to have her life back. We have you to thank for that." Hayes looked at Meredith, shocked. "Wait, this is the same Megan you did the abdominal wall transplant on - Hunt's sister, right?" He asked, and Meredith nodded. "Aye, I remember Yang talking about how her ex's sister had been found or something, and then the surgery you did on her for weeks after it happened, and then again when you won the award for it."

Meredith smiled at the thought of her best friend annoying her co-workers in Switzerland by constantly telling them about Megan's surgery. Nathan chuckled and redirected the conversation back to the topic of Hayes and Meredith’s relationship. “So, when did this happen?” He asked with a smirk as he leaned against a podium. This was when Amelia and Maggie spotted Riggs from across the foyer and made their way over to say hi. “Ah… almost 3 weeks ago now.” Hayes said looking down and smiling at Meredith, who was smiling back up at him. Nathan took notice of the immense happiness in their eyes as they looked at each other, and couldn’t help but smile along with them.

“Nathan!” Maggie called out, catching the attention of all 3 surgeons. “Pierce, Shepherd - good to see you guys again.” He said, nodding them over, then giving Maggie a quick hug. Amelia’s eyes quickly gravitated to Hayes’ arm around Meredith’s waist. “What’s going on over here guys?” Amelia inquired with a smirk on her face. “Ah, we were just talking about when they got together.” Nathan nodded towards Meredith and Hayes who were laughing slightly to themselves as they watched Maggie and Amelia’s jaws drop. “What?!” Maggie uttered, in complete shock. “Surprise?” Meredith said with a sly smile on her face. “Wait, so when  _ did  _ this happen?” Amelia asked, her eyes wide and her heart full. 

“The night you and Link had the kids for a sleepover.” Meredith said nonchalantly. Nathan was amused at the fact that Meredith had successfully kept a relationship from her sisters, thinking back to when they’d tried to keep his and Meredith’s fling a secret from Maggie and failed miserably. “God, Mer, that was a few weeks ago!” Amelia whacked Meredith’s arm playfully, causing everyone to laugh. Maggie took out her phone and immediately sent a message to Jo, who then forwarded that message to all of their friends. Within 30 minutes of the reveal, more than half the staff at Grey-Sloan knew of the pair’s new romance. 

The group spent a while catching up and, for Hayes and Riggs, getting to know each other. Just before they parted ways so Meredith could prep for her panel, she went over and hugged Nathan. Though their relationship’s ending was abrupt and fast, she was thankful for him and their time together. “It was good to see you again Nathan, send my love to Megan.” She said with a smile. “You too, Mer. It’s great to see you so happy.” He told her, to which Meredith looked over at her boyfriend and smiled, before turning back to Nathan. “Yeah, I am. He gets it. It’s still new, but I haven’t been this happy in a really long time.” 

“It’s evident on your face when you look at him. I’m happy for you, really. You deserve it.” Meredith smiled sweetly at her ex. “Thank you, you too. I’ve got to go get ready for my panel now, but I’ll see you around. Okay?” Nathan nodded and gave Meredith one last side hug. “Sounds good, see you later.” Nathan watched as Meredith walked off and caught up to Hayes, smiling at him and kissing him before lacing their fingers together and walking out of sight around a corner. 

During Meredith’s presentation, Hayes sat in the audience alongside Maggie, Tom, Amelia, and Link, and watched with pride as she spoke eloquently about her latest research project. Every so often she would find his eyes amongst the crowd and smile to herself as she continued to talk. It made Hayes’ heart skip a beat every time it happened. Tom took notice of Hayes’ smile as he watched his girlfriend speak and made sure to crack a few jokes about it after the presentation was over. As she finished her talk and everyone exited the auditorium, the Grey-Sloan group walked down the stairs to where Meredith was on the ground fixing her papers and cards. She smiled as her sisters, friends, and boyfriend came over to her, pride on their faces. 

“You did amazing.” Hayes said after Meredith had walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. They laughed as they heard Maggie squeal at the sight of the kiss. Meredith hugged the rest of the group. “You guys are going to have to get used to that and not squeal every time it happens.” Meredith told Maggie with a laugh as they hugged. “I’ll try my best, but you guys have been ‘just friends’ for so long - it’s gonna take some getting used to. And I love seeing you happy.” Everyone else chuckled and nodded in agreement. 

“Why don’t we all go out to dinner to celebrate?” Amelia suggested, though Meredith suggested a different day. “Why not after all the presentations are finished? You’ve got yours and Tom’s, as well as Hayes’ tomorrow, and Maggie and Link are each presenting the day after. That way we’re celebrating everyone as opposed to just me. Also, I’m so exhausted. I don’t know if I can handle going out anywhere right now.” Amelia smiled and nodded at Meredith, understanding completely. 

Meredith spent a few hours over in Hayes’ hotel room after getting into more comfortable clothes and talking to her kids back in her own room. They ate pizza, laughed, kissed, and cuddled, just glad that their relationship wasn’t a secret anymore, and they wouldn’t have to hide their happiness and limit their interactions with each other around the hospital or in public any longer. 


	9. On My Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a fun chapter! I had far too much fun with the angst of this and I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> Feb 9th - First Fight (written by So_Uncreative)

“So, how was your day?” Cormac asked as Meredith entered his kitchen and took a seat at the counter. His back was turned to her as he stirred the various pots he had on the go as he cooked for the two of them and his boys, both of whom were upstairs in fear they might be asked to help. It was not often that the four of them got to have dinner together but whenever they did, Cormac couldn’t help but relish in the domesticity of it all. While Meredith had told her children about the fact they were dating shortly after returning home for the conference and each of them had expressed their joy about the fact in some way, Cormac had hesitated in telling his own sons. It had been a bit of an adjustment for the boys as unlike Meredith’s children Liam and Austin had yet to experience what it was like to see their parent date, but once a month or so had passed, he felt as though they were in a solid place.

“Long” Meredith sighed and he glanced at her over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow to see how depleted she looked. They had seen each other that morning as Cormac’s shift drew to an end and Meredith’s began and she had seemed pretty optimistic about the day ahead when she brought him a coffee, he couldn’t help but worry about whatever tragedy had occurred to stomp on her previous joy. Knowing exactly what the look he’d shot her over his shoulder meant, Meredith, rested her head in the palm of her hand and began to divulge the details of what had happened “Most of it was fine, I did a pretty nice cholecystectomy and two hernia repairs, but I did spend a lot of the day trying to reassure Wilson”

“About what? Did she have a bad loss?”

“No” Meredith shook her head, knowing that Cormac wouldn’t be pleased with what she was about to tell him “She had to discharge Ms. Nelson”

“What?” Cormac asked, more confused by her words than shocked as he turned to her. Ms. Nelson was a patient of Jo’s that had charmed the entire staff and a particular patient across the hall who often flirted with her. She was a vibrant young woman, the kind who didn’t let her colon cancer diagnosis or upcoming surgery stand in the way of living her life and she reminded Cormac of Abigail. Ms. Nelson was around the same age as Abigail was when she was diagnosed and while she wasn’t his patient, Cormac couldn’t help but notice how similar Ms. Nelson’s smile was to Abigail’s whenever they interacted. The difference between them though is that Ms. Nelson’s outcome was looking far more positive than Abigail’s and once she had the surgery, she’d be on track to recovery. Hearing that she’d been discharged, made Cormac fear for the woman “Why would Wilson discharge such a sick patient?”

“Well she didn’t want to, Ms. Nelson signed the AMA paperwork” Meredith explained, in the hopes that Cormac would realize that Jo wasn’t in the wrong. She knew that Cormac had formed a sort of friendship with Ms. Nelson over the past week that she’d been in the hospital after she’d cornered him in the hallway upon hearing his Irish accent to ask him about the place that she so desperately wanted to travel to. She’d told him it was her dying wish to photograph the country herself and he’d been more than happy to tell her about the country he loved so much after reassuring her that she’d get to go there someday soon. Meredith noticed that her boyfriend’s grip on the wooden spoon he’d been using to cook had tightened enough to make his knuckles appear white and she bit her lip “It’s not Jo’s fault, there’s nothing she could do other than advise against Ms. Nelson leaving, there’s nothing any of us could’ve done”

“She could’ve fought harder,” Cormac said, just loud enough for Meredith to hear. Her eyebrows furrowed together, wondering for a moment if Cormac was angry about something more than just a patient's decision to discharge themselves. With his back still turned to her, Cormac bit his lip as he silently debated if this was the right time to bring up something that had been bothering him for a few days. He turned down the heat under the spaghetti that he was boiling before turning around to her, deciding now was as good a time as any to call her out. “I mean I’m surprised that you didn’t tell Wilson to fight harder, to not give up on Ms. Nelson. You had no problem telling Austin something similar”

“What…” Meredith began to ask what he was talking about before the penny dropped and she remembered. A few days ago, she’d been pretty shocked to receive a call from Austin and when she asked him what was wrong, her heart had been touched when he admitted he needed advice from a woman and had thought of her. It wasn’t that she thought her boyfriend’s children hated her, she’d just thought they were a long way off either of them coming to her for guidance. Austin’s issue centered around the fact the girl he was crushing on and the fact she liked someone else, Meredith hadn’t thought anything of it when she’d encouraged the young teen to fight harder for her affections but apparently it was a bigger deal than she’d thought “...What does that have to do with the patient?”

“I just thought that if you could tell a fourteen-year-old boy to fight harder than you’d be comfortable telling a grown woman to do the same” Cormac shrugged, his tone unimpressed and Meredith could feel her own blood begin to boil with rage. She couldn’t understand why her boyfriend was so put out about the advice she’d given to Austin and the fact he was choosing to act annoyed rather than talking it out with her, was pissing her off.

“What’s the problem with what I told Austin? Did he take it the wrong way and do something stupid?” she asked, standing up from the barstool and crossing her arms so that Cormac knew she was unimpressed with the way he was acting. They often ranted to one another about the mischief and grief that their kids caused them and he was sure that if Austin had done something that warranted this level of anger from Cormac that her boyfriend would’ve told her by now.

“No but that’s not the issue!” he told her, shocking himself with how the volume of his voice raised slightly when speaking to her. Austin hadn’t technically done anything wrong but later on when he’d sit at the dinner table and reflect on the argument that he’d overheard his father and Meredith having, the young boy would wonder if going to Meredith in the first place had been wrong. Austin had originally debated going to Liam or his dad but seeing as the girl he wanted to impress was kind, smart, and hard to read, he thought a woman’s perspective was what he needs and with Meredith being the only woman in his life besides his aunts, it had only made sense for him to go to her, something which Cormac would later realize “It was bad advice! Plus he’s fourteen, he’s not supposed to be dating!”

“Telling him not to do something is only going to make him want to do it more” Meredith objected, thinking back to her own teen years. When she’d rebelled against each and every rule that her mother had put in place and had taken joy in the fact she was pissing her mother off. Although Austin was far kinder than Meredith had been at the age, he was still a teenager and she thought it was a bit naive of her boyfriend not to realize that all teenagers would rebel. Meredith exhaled to calm herself before speaking again, hoping that they could disperse some of the anger before the boys came downstairs. She was pretty annoyed at Cormac for raising his voice at her but felt she could overlook that for the moment “You know what teenagers are like”

“Yes, I do because I’m raising two of them on my own!” Cormac snapped, realizing his mistake as soon as he saw Meredith’s face fall. He knew that they weren't doing this on their own, not on his own now that he and Meredith were dating, because being with her had made him and his boys a part of the family. Sundays were spent at Link and Amelia’s apartment, cooking with Amelia and Meredith, or occupying the kids while his boys watched football with Link, Winston, and Maggie. Lunches at work were spent with them as they swapped both surgical and parenting stories. Meredith and his family had become his village and to say that he was on his own was not just insulting to the woman who’d he’d been so lucky to have by his side for the past few weeks but also to the friends that he knew he’d be lost without.

“I’m going to let you three have dinner on your own tonight” she replied, her tone cold and unfeeling as she reached for her bag. Her own kids would be at home with Maggie and Winston watching them and right now, they seemed like far better company. Meredith couldn’t help but wonder if she’d crossed some boundary by giving Austin advice when he’d asked but she’d at least thought that Cormac respected her enough to tell her calmly if she had, not get angry with her.

“Mer-” Cormac began only to be cut off by the sound of water boiling over and hissing on the heat of the ring of the stove as she walked towards the door. He turned to deal with the overboiling bot and when he turned back, he was just in time to see the front door of his house slam behind his girlfriend leaving him truly on his own.


	10. Slow Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... you guys may have noticed that there's been a 'mature' rating on this fic since it was released. And you may have been wondering why, considering most of the fics have been fluffy, and most definitely not explicit enough to invoke a mature rating. Well, friends, that's all about to change in this chapter. 
> 
> Feb. 10th: Slow Hands - Meredith and Hayes' first time (written by greyswidows)

It’d been just over 2 months since Meredith Grey and Cormac Hayes had officially decided to label themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend, and up until this point, the most they’d done together was hands travelling up shirts and no further. They wanted to take it slow. It was mostly long, romantic kisses before surgeries, quick pecks as they entered the hospital, and cuddling on their couches with sweet forehead and cheek kisses. Meredith definitely wanted to go all the way with Hayes, but she wanted him to be the one to let her know when he felt ready. It was a big first, and if one of them didn’t feel ready for it yet, neither did the other. However, neither of them could have expected an on-call room being the first place to push them right to the brink of all the way.

Their communication with each other had become something that a lot of other couples in the hospital envied. After their fight, Hayes had talked with Austin, who was guilt ridden and terrified that he'd crossed a boundary and ruined his dad's relationship. Hayes tried his best to reassure Austin that they'd be okay, but he didn't know if he believed his own words. He ended up calling Meredith in the middle of the night, shaken with worry and a broken voice after spending most of his night reflecting, crying, worried he'd ruined things with his girlfriend, and more importantly his best friend - the person who brought back a happiness in him that he thought he'd lost forever.  He needed to talk to her and try to make amends.  Meredith had done her own fair share of crying back at her house to Maggie, who followed her upstairs with intense fear when Meredith walked in the house far earlier than expected, visibly upset. 

Meredith wasn’t initially impressed when he’d called her at 12am, but once she answered the phone, she could tell by the sigh of relief he let out when he got through to her, along with the sound of him holding back tears and his voice cracking as he spoke, that their fight had been eating him alive. She knew it wouldn’t be fair of her to not hear him out after the way she’d stormed out of the house, not giving them a chance to resolve anything. Even though she was hurt, she also knew that he was her best friend, and she didn't want to let the first argument they'd ever had be the reason they'd lose each other. Even just the thought of not having him in her life anymore brought her close to tears. This was something they could work through. And so, they talked. For close to 2 hours, they talked about how they felt, they apologized for the way they acted, and promised they’d never let an argument or disagreement cause another blowout like the one that’d happened that evening. Since then, they always told each other exactly how they were feeling, what they wanted, what they thought, and more. They wouldn't have another major argument like that, from that point on. 

Meredith had a particularly off-day one day - she was tense, tired, and sore. She’d been on her feet since 5am, when her youngest daughter had woken her up to let her know that she wanted toast. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso as she yawned and stretched her neck. “Busy day?” Hayes’ Irish accent rang through her ears, and she felt him place a small kiss on her cheek and rest his chin on her shoulder for a moment. She turned around in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his torso and laying her head on his chest. “So busy.” She told him, sighing. “Anything I can do to help?” He asked sincerely. He knew she could get snappy when she was stressed, and if he could, he’d do whatever needed to, in order to make sure a poor intern didn’t get the tail-end result of her stress. She thought for a moment and then laughed, and he looked down at her, confused. “What?” He asked, curiously. “I could really go for a massage right now.” She said, nuzzling her head into his chest. He still didn’t understand why she laughed, it’s not like it was a grandiose request, and it was perfectly reasonable considering the situation. “Alright.” He said casually, grabbing her hand and pulling himself away from her. 

He led them to a nearby on-call room, and turned her around as he began to knead his thumbs into her back. This was definitely what she needed. She gasped a little as he massaged the one spot that had been bothering her the most. “Right there?” He asked, kneading a little deeper. “Oh yeah.” She encouraged as she tilted her head back at his touch. As he finished, she stretched and turned around to look at him. “Feel any better now?” He asked, to which he was met with her hands around his neck and her lips on his. “Much better,” she whispered as she pulled away from him for a slight second, only to go right back in again. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in closer to him, as the kiss only got more fiery and passionate. His hands began to travel under her scrub top, and things only escalated from there. He pulled away from the kiss for only a moment so they could continue on the bed. 

There was really no stopping the fire building between Meredith and Hayes. Both of their shirts had made their way onto the ground of the on-call room, and they were quick to get their pants off as well. Hayes placed slow kisses down Meredith’s neck and across her collarbone. His fingers traced all over her bare skin, like she’d been doing with him. They hadn’t even considered the weight of what was happening, and more so  _ where  _ it was happening until Hayes went to unclasp Meredith’s bra, and was met with the buzzing of both of their pagers. Meredith groaned, smacking the bed. She didn’t want to stop. Hayes rolled off of her, laughing slightly to himself at the timing of the page, and she rolled her eyes as she fixed her bra back into place and put her scrubs back on. Both of them had been paged 9-1-1 to the pit, where an MVC had brought in a 5 month old baby and her young parents. The parents couldn’t have been older than 19. 

The parents were whisked away to get head CT’s, as the mother had suffered an epileptic episode, and the father had a severe head-lac that needed immediate attention. Both Hayes and Meredith were paged for the baby, who also needed a CT scan, as her abdomen was distended and there was free fluid in the ultrasound Meredith had done. The CT showed that the baby’s liver had been destroyed in the crash. Meredith called for an OR to be prepped, as nurses scrambled into the CT room to whisk the baby girl away in order to prep her for surgery. “So much for today slowing down a little.” Meredith said offhandedly as she walked out of the scan room. Hayes simply looked at her empathetically and followed behind her so they could go get scrubbed in. 

Meredith was definitely not as used to working on such a tiny human, and as she thought back to what had almost happened before they got paged away, she found her thoughts trailing back to the feeling of Hayes’ arms holding her close to him, his hands on her bare skin, his lips placing kisses on her neck, her collarbone, and moving towards her chest right before they got paged... ‘ _ snap out of it, Meredith,’  _ she told herself internally. She tried her best to focus most of her attention on the young child in front of her that needed her help, but she couldn’t help but take special interest in Hayes’ hands as he worked meticulously to help fix the baby’s liver and control the bleeding. There was something incredibly attractive to Meredith about the way he carefully moved each hand and instrument around the tiny body. It made her wonder just  _ how  _ meticulous his hands could be. Meredith was lucky that she was mostly just assisting him, everything was muscle memory to her, and they worked so perfectly together that they always knew or told each other exactly what they wanted/ needed - both in surgery, and apparently in private too.

The surgery ended up being a success, and all of the people involved in the crash had made it out alive. By the time Meredith and Hayes had gotten out of their surgery, it was close to 9pm. Both of them were sore, and completely exhausted. Since Austin and Liam were both sleeping over at friends houses that night, Hayes and Meredith both decided it’d be a good idea if he just stayed over at her house for the night, since they both started work at the same time the next morning. All the kids were asleep by the time they finally got home, so after having a few slices of pizza, courtesy of Amelia and Link, they both headed upstairs to bed. 

Meredith slid under the covers and snuggled close to her boyfriend as he wrapped his arm around her abdomen. “We pulled off a pretty incredible surgery today.” Hayes said in a low whisper, as he placed a kiss on her jaw. “We did. Even though you were incredibly distracting the entire time.” Meredith said with a slight laugh. “Was I now? How so?” He asked as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and brought his thumb to her jaw, so he could tilt her head towards him and kiss her. She grabbed the hand on her face and looked at him deeply in the eyes, slightly smirking. “Well… after what happened in the on-call room, all I could focus on was your hands… and how attentive you were to even the smallest details…” She whispered, tangling her fingers with his. “I guess I just couldn’t stop wondering what  _ other  _ things you might be good at paying close attention to…” Her voice was low, seductive, and trailed off with a smirk. 

Hayes smirked right back at her, loosened his fingers from hers, and began to move his hand underneath her shirt, turning her on her side as he began lightly tracing patterns on her back. She got chills at his touch. He brought his lips close to her ear, and whispered in a low voice, “I try my best to pay as close attention to everything, especially the small details... I like to think I’m pretty attentive, but you’ll have to decide that for yourself.” His hand ran slowly down her back, around to her abdomen and up her waist as he talked, so that by the time he'd stopped talking, his fingertips delicately caressed the underside of her chest. Meredith was already breathing heavily and had just about enough of the teasing. She wanted his lips on hers, and his hands  _ fully  _ exploring her body right then and there. “Just shut up and start kissing me already.” She whispered breathlessly, and he did just that. He crashed his lips into hers, rolling her on her back and tangling their legs together as he moved on top of her. Not long after, he pulled away from the fiery kiss and they both pulled their shirts off. Even though he knew she hadn't been wearing a bra, Hayes’ breath still hitched at the sight of his girlfriend laying exposed beneath him, before he went back in to kissing her neck as his hands travelled up her torso and caressed her chest.

Meredith gasped slightly and arched her back at the feeling of his hands on her chest, which only encouraged Hayes to tease her a little bit more. His hands moved off her chest and his mouth moved on, while he traced his fingers down her waist and down to the waistband of her shorts. He moved his lips and tongue off her chest for only a moment so he could quickly pull both her shorts and underwear down to her ankles, and she finished slipping out of them for him. She pulled him back up to kiss her, while his hands explored her most sensitive areas. Meredith moaned as quietly as she could, trying to not wake up her sisters or children, and she squirmed as his fingers danced and teased her. She groaned as he moved his kisses down her torso and began to show her that his hands weren’t the only thing that he was good at being meticulous with. He pleasured her with his tongue for a good while, then moved his mouth to place kisses on her inner thigh as he slid his fingers in and out of her. She’d had just about enough of him being the one doing all the work, and so with all the strength she could muster, she tilted his head to make him look up at her, and said lowly, “Cormac Hayes, if your boxers aren’t off and you’re not turned over on this bed in the next 30 seconds, we’re going to have problems.” Hayes chuckled at her demand, though he happily obliged. 

Meredith took the opportunity to show him exactly all she was capable of, and Hayes was in ecstasy as she used her mouth, tongue, and hands in all the right places. It wasn’t long before he was ready to turn her back over and take the final step with her, and so he did just that. Their bodies worked together, his hands ran through her hair and he left deep, romantic kisses on her neck and her chest, encouraged by her heavy breathing. It felt like every nerve in their bodies was on fire, and neither of them were ready to let it end anytime soon. When they both finally reached their climax together, Hayes rolled off her and laid next to her, both of them trying to catch their breath. Meredith tangled her fingers with his, interlocking them and looking over at him with a smile on her face.

“That was... perfect. Everything I could have ever imagined it being, and more.” Meredith admitted as she slipped back into bed, and rested her head on Hayes’ chest, lightly kissing his peck and rubbing his shoulder and bicep, soaking up the post-coital bliss. He ran his hand up and down her waist, and kissed her temple. “Same for me.” He told her, holding her lightly. “You’re beautiful.” He told her, as he aimlessly and lightly traced patterns on her waist. She smiled and leaned up, kissing him on the lips. “You are too.” They lingered there for a little bit longer, gazing at each other and placing small, tender kisses on each other’s bodies. Finally, they fully turned on their sides and Hayes wrapped his arm around Meredith, spooning her as they drifted off to sleep. “Goodnight,” Meredith whispered quietly, placing one last small kiss on his palm. “Goodnight.” Hayes whispered back, content, kissing her shoulder and neck. She nuzzled herself closer to him, and they finally fell asleep in the safety of each other’s arms. 


	11. Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lads! Now that there's only a few days left in this project, I'd just like to thank you all once again for the amazing feedback that you've been giving us through comments and kudos! It means so much to both of us!
> 
> Feb 11th - First "I Love You" (written by me, So_Uncreative)

The first time Cormac almost said it out loud was a cold Sunday morning in the kitchen of Meredith’s house. Her unbrushed hair fell loosely around her shoulders and the faded Dartmouth sweater that she’d grabbed from the dresser didn’t look as if it was doing much to keep her warm. Since getting together, Cormac had learned that “Waffle Sundays' ' were tradition in the Grey household and that if he stayed over on a Saturday night, he’d find himself being dragged out of bed the next morning in order to help. This particular Sunday morning was no different and as Meredith got started on the pancake mixture, Cormac found himself distracted by her beauty so much so that one side of the bacon he was cooking burned lightly before he remembered to flip it. Meredith had only laughed, hearing him curse under his breath for his blunder and the sound was like music to Cormac’s ears as he realized there was no part of Meredith that he did not love. He was tempted to tell her right there and then, letting the three words slip from his tongue as he ensured the bacon didn’t burn further but before he could, footprints were heard padding down the stairs and they had three hungry children to focus on. The three words disappeared from the tip of his tongue but the feelings didn’t, he loved Meredith Grey and he would find the perfect moment to tell her.

-

The first time that Meredith almost said it, she was standing in the grocery store with one hand pushing the shopping cart with one hand and holding her phone to her ear with the other. As she weaved between the aisle, dodging shoppers and picking up the items from the extensive list that Maggie had given her, she listened intently as her boyfriend relayed his own list to her. When Amelia and Link had announced their engagement, not one person had been surprised but what had been shocking was how in between surgeries, dates with Winston and babysitting duties, Maggie had found the time within the week to plan an engagement party for the pair. She’d tasked herself with creating the guestlist, Winston with decorations and Meredith and Cormac with picking up the food and drinks. They’d thought they’d gotten off pretty easy considering that the party was going to be catered but as Meredith listened to Cormac list off the various drinks that he was to pick up, Meredith realized that Maggie was pulling out all the stops for Amelia and Link. Cormac had let out a heavy sigh as he arrived at the door of the liquor store and told Meredith that he’d call her as soon as he had stuffed all the bottles into his car and just before they hung up, Meredith caught herself almost letting those three words slip out. No matter how desperate she was to say those three words to him, she was not going to say over the phone for the first time as if it was nothing.

-

There was no better feeling than laying in bed beside the woman he loved, that much Cormac was sure of. He loved laying in bed with her, as he read and she played various games on her phone, before they drifted to sleep and he loved laying in bed in post coital bliss. In the euphoric moments after reaching climax, they’d lay together in a silence only filled by the sound of their ragged breaths and one day, it took every last shred of willpower that Cormac had in his arsenal not to blurt those three words out as they laid in the on-call room bed together. They rarely snuck off to have sex at work, perferring the comfort of their bedrooms far too much but sometimes on-call rooms were the only option. With their clothes scattered across the floor and the thin blanket draped over them, Cormac found himself imagining what it would be like to say those three words right there and then. He thought better of it though, realizing that if the moment was to be perfect that he could not say those three words for the first time on an uncomfortable mattress in the hospital.

-

One thing that Meredith had learned over the years of being friends with Arizona and Alex, was that while peds surgeons had to be good with kids, they also had to be good with parents. It was a skill that Meredith had admired in both her friends and whenever she was able to work a case with her boyfriend, a skill that she admired in him as well. Meredith knew first hand how difficult it was to be the terrified parent and she was particularly thankful for the fact that Cormac could comfort both parents and children the day that Bailey broke his arm. Meredith wasn’t sure which one of them had reached the boy first once he’d fallen off his bike or which one of them had declared that they needed to get to the hospital but she remembered how calm Cormac had been. He’d made Bailey laugh on the way there and assured him that his cast could indeed be blue and once they were at the hospital and Nico took Bailey for his X-Ray, Cormac had held Meredith’s hands and told her it was not her fault as she let tears stream down her face. It had surprised Meredith how her boyfriend knew exactly what to say in order to make her feel better in the same way he’d known how to comfort Bailey but she supposed it was a trick of the trade. She loved how kind and caring her boyfriend was and in that moment, as she took the packet of tissues that he was holding out to her so that she could try her eyes, it felt as though she might burst if she didn’t tell him that she loved him. The hospital waiting room was hardly the most romantic place and when she’d look back on this moment, Meredith was glad that Jo had rushed over to them to enquire as to why they were both there on their day off, because it saved her from saying those three words in a moment that was far from perfect.

-

When Cormac envisioned the perfect moment to tell Meredith Grey that he loved her, he thought of her kitchen where they’d had their first kiss, where they’d danced it out on the kitchen tiles and where along with their children, they had weekly family dinners. He thought of dinner on the table and the lights dimmed just enough to create a romantic atmosphere but still allow them to see one another and their plates and he’d probably give a heartfelt speech about why he loved her before uttering those three words for the first time. In reality though, this is not how it happened. Meredith’s vision of the perfect moment was quite different from Cormac’s though, as she imagined it taking place in the scrub room of OR 3. She’d say it after a successful surgery, one that was so difficult that it made the post-surgical high all the sweeter, and he’d grin widely as he’d say it back. He would then kiss her with as much passion he had that night that she’d told him how she felt and they’d both feel sparks fly between them just like they did any time they kissed. Of course, this was not how it happened either.

-

In reality, the _true_ perfect moment ended up being nothing like either of them envisioned. 

Cormac had always loved the way that Meredith sang along to the radio as she drove to work. Unlike him, she did not curse at pedestrians who walked across the road without looking both ways nor did she yell obscenities at other drivers when they were clearly in the wrong, instead, she clutched the steering wheel slightly and sang whatever song seemed to be blasting through the speakers. He was in awe of how enjoyable she made their morning commute and on this particular day, she’d even managed to get him to sing along. By the time that Meredith had pulled into her spot in the parking lot of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the pair of them were wearing identical smiles and as she gathered her various bags and papers, she could feel her boyfriend’s eyes on her. “What?”

“I love you”

The words seem to hang in the air for a brief moment with Meredith relishing in how beautiful they’d sounded coming from Cormac’s mouth and Cormac panicking about how he’d just blurted them out. He was surprised when Meredith leaned over to plant a chaste kiss on his lips, as if to bring him back to reality and when he looked at her, he noticed that she was still smiling. 

“I love you too.”

Although the moment didn’t play out as either of them had planned, they would both describe it as perfect when telling their friends about it throughout the day, because the thing about perfect moments is that they are usually unplanned.


	12. Everything Has Changed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's bittersweet for us to be getting down to the last few days of this project - we enjoyed working on it so much and we've been enjoying seeing the reactions even more. I know you all have been waiting for a more domestic one-shot, and today's fic is just that, along with a little bit of smut to accompany it.
> 
> Feb. 12th: Everything Has Changed - First night living together (written by greyswidows)

It’d been just over a year and a half since Meredith and Hayes had gotten together. They’d taken many steps together and had many firsts with each other. They loved each other and their kids acted like siblings. To Meredith, the next logical step to take would be…

“Let’s move in together.” Meredith told her boyfriend as she sat down to curl up next to him on her couch. He looked down at her in shock at her statement. It wasn't a bad shock, he just wasn’t expecting the words to come out of her mouth given their previous conversation of which pizza topping was the superior topping. “Come again?” He asked with a slight chuckle as she pulled the blanket over the two of them and rested her head on his chest. “If it’s not something you’re comfortable with then it’s not something we have to consider, but it’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I love you, I love how our families mesh, and I want to wake up next to you every day. You’re my best friend. And I think this is the right next step for us.” Meredith closed her eyes and felt Hayes’ hand slip around her waist and his head rest on hers. 

After a few moments of silence and thinking about it, Hayes finally spoke up. “Would we get a new house? Or would me and the boys move in here?” Hayes was being genuine in his question, but his response prompted a small laugh out of Meredith. “I don’t know if this house could realistically fit all 7 of us, plus Maggie and Winston. I think we’d get a new house somewhere in the neighbourhood, and I’d sell this place to Maggie.” Hayes nodded slightly and ran his hand loosely up and down her waist as he weighed the pros and cons of taking the next big step in their relationship. “It’s just a suggestion, but I wanted to see what you thought about it.” 

“I think that’s something I want. It’s a realistic step for us to take, and the thought of getting to be beside you every morning and night is quite frankly very tempting.” He said with a slight smirk on his face as he kissed her temple. “We’re going to have to talk to the kids about this in the next few days, but is it settled? This is something we’re going to do?” Meredith asked as she looked up at him with hopefulness in her voice and a small smile on her face. “Yeah, I think it is.” He told her, smiling as he watched her small smile turn into a grin, and her eyes began to sparkle. She sat up slightly to kiss him, excited at the thought of finally living under the same roof with her second soulmate and their blended family. “I love you.” She whispered, rubbing her thumb over his cheek and jaw. “I love you too.” He whispered back before kissing her again, much more passionately than when she kissed him. 

After telling the kids and talking to Maggie and Winston, the hunt for a new house was on. They wanted to make sure that each of the kids had their own bedroom, plus their own, along with a spare bedroom that someone could sleep in, in case of emergency. Finding a 7 bedroom home in the vicinity that Meredith was adamant about staying in was tough, but after 3 weeks of searching and multiple different showings of the Hayes’ townhouse, they finally sold both houses and found the new place they’d call home.

Moving day was complete and utter chaos, as Link and Amelia helped Hayes and his boys pack up their townhome and get their moving van to the new house, while Maggie and Winston stayed over at  _ their _ ‘new’ house, helping Meredith and the kids pack up every last little thing of theirs that they could possibly think to remember to bring, as if they didn’t have the ability go back and grab something if they forgot it. Meredith freaked out when she couldn’t find the post-it vows, along with her favourite picture of herself and Hayes that Amelia had taken on Ellis’ sixth birthday, however she told herself she’d drop by the next day and look for them to bring to the new house if they weren’t already packed away. 

Walking around the house that she grew up in, not empty by any means, but knowing she no longer owned it anymore was a bittersweet feeling for Meredith. Everyone had lived in that house. Her kids had grown up there. And though it wasn’t a forever goodbye to the place that housed so many fond memories, there was still a twinge of sadness as she closed the door and got in her car to head to her new home. One thing she knew for sure though, was that she was excited to move in with her second soulmate, her best friend, and be with their family under one roof, making new memories. 

Ben had offered to watch Ellis, Zola, Bailey, and Scout as their parents worked to unpack everything at the new place. Once all the adults and the two teenagers had arrived, Meredith and Hayes got to work on assembling their bedroom, while Austin and Liam worked on putting together the basis of their own rooms. Maggie and Winston worked on Ellis’ room, while Amelia and Link put Zola and Bailey’s rooms together. Jackson and Owen were downstairs putting their new living room and dining room together. They all worked as quickly and efficiently as possible so that Meredith and Hayes could have the evening to settle in with the kids and get used to having everyone under the same roof. 

By 4pm all the necessities had been built and the kids had been brought over, and Mer and Hayes insisted that they were good and could finish unpacking boxes and setting rooms up on their own. By 7pm the family was incredibly hungry, and so they decided they’d be done unpacking for the night and make dinner in their new kitchen. Everything was exciting to the younger kids, as Zola insisted on helping Hayes cook because she enjoyed how pretty the kitchen was. Ellis had curled up on their new couch, while Bailey was upstairs playing mario kart with Austin and Liam on their Nintendo switch. They ate dinner, fettuccine alfredo, in their new dining room as a family for the first time. There was finally a light, airy atmosphere amongst the Grey-Hayes clan, after the stress of the day came to a close and they could enjoy their first night in the new house.

Finally, 9pm rolled round. Ellis had quickly passed out, followed shortly by Bailey. Zola was reading in her room before she drifted off to sleep, while Austin and Liam were unpacking more of their things up in their rooms. This gave Meredith and Hayes some quality time alone, for the first time in almost 15 hours. Meredith sighed in exhaustion as she came down the stairs and stretched, the toll of the day finally catching up with her. “Well, we did it.” Hayes said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “Yeah, we did.” She said, smiling as he kissed her cheek softly. She turned around in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. They pulled away and rested their foreheads against each other, relishing in the moment of peace and quiet that they knew would come far and few between. 

“I love you.” Meredith told Hayes with a small smile, caressing his cheek. He rubbed his palm in a circle on her back, releasing some of her tension while reiterating the phrase they’d always tell each other with a smile on their face. She leaned back into his touch, as he massaged and kneaded where she needed it most. As Meredith thought about how much she’d been through, and how things finally felt right again after so much pain, she found herself wrapping herself around Hayes, finding herself close to tears. He engulfed her in a hug when he heard her sniffling, knowing it was coming from an immense build up of stress, grief, fear, and relief all coming crashing down at once. “I know, I know.” He reassured her as he rocked her slowly, rubbing her back again. 

“Come on, let’s go take a shower.” He said quietly once her breathing slowed and she calmed down. She wiped a tear from her eye and nodded, keeping a hold of his hand as they walked up the stairs to their room. Immediately when she opened the door and walked in the room, the first thing that caught her eye was the blue post-it note she married Derek on, hung on the wall in a frame. She teared up upon realizing Hayes had made and hung a framed collage that included the post-it vows, a copy of his own vows to Abby, pictures of Meredith and Derk with Zola and Bailey, pictures of Abby and Hayes with Austin and Liam, multiple photos of the two of them together, and in the very middle, a family photo with the 7 of them. 

“When did you do this?” Meredith said as she choked back tears. Hayes stood behind her, his hands on her hips, kissing her temple. “I made it about 2 days ago. Hung it up while you were putting Ellis to bed. I wanted it to be a surprise. Do you like it?” She turned around to look up at him and she was crying again, but this time it was tears of happiness. “I love it. And I love you. I know I’ve said it a lot tonight, but I really do.” He wiped away her tears and kissed her. “I love you too.” Meredith let out a deep breath and smiled, laughing to herself. “Okay, no more crying tonight.” He laughed along with her and smoothed her hair before heading into the bathroom to get the shower ready.

They cleaned each other’s bodies, washing away the final tensions they’d held from their stressful day. Though they were department heads and skilled surgeons that were used to spending the whole day on their feet, the toll that moving took on their bodies was enough to wipe them out for a week straight. There, of course, was no way they could be in such close proximity to each other, naked, with so much built up tension needing to be released, without a few kisses on certain body parts that would help facilitate, and lead to the best sex they’d ever had up until that point. The pure, unbridled love that they had for each other, mixed with the release of all that tension, as well as the knowledge that they were in the bed they’d share every night going forward, in their room, in  _ their  _ new house, combined to make it so that their bodies worked together in complete and perfect harmony. The soundproof walls and significant distance away from any of their kids rooms were bonus touches that they appreciated and took full advantage of.

A significant amount of time later, when they finally decided they were too tired to keep going any longer, they both went to the bathroom and very quickly slipped back into bed. As they lay there, exhausted and soaking up just being with each other, each of them thought about how lucky they’d gotten with each other, to be dating, and now living with their best friend, and how this is exactly what Derek and Abby wanted for them. They didn’t have to say anything to each other - her head laid on his chest while he absentmindedly ran his fingers up and down her side. Meredith’s eyes drifted to the collage Hayes had made once more, feeling like she’d truly hit the jackpot with her boyfriend. 

When they finally drifted off to sleep, Meredith had turned herself completely over, so that half of her was basically on top of him. Her head nestled comfortably in the crook of his neck, her arm around his waist, and his arm around her back, holding her, while their legs tangled together. It was truly everything that either of them could have ever asked for, and they’d never take the ability to hold each other at night for granted, for as long as they lived.


	13. Adventure Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a rather bittersweet moment for me, it's my last installment on this project. I have enjoyed writing with greyswidows so much (and we'll definitely have to do something again soon) and I would firstly like to thank her for letting me come on to this project, she's actually the best. Secondly, I would like to say thank you to those who've read, left kudos and comments, and generally just enjoyed these fics, it's been such a lovely response and has really made us feel excited about writing! Thirdly, I would like to take this opportunity for some shameless self-promo: I write prompts (Merhayes, Amelink, Schmico, you name it I write it) over on my Tumblr @Herrera-n-Hayes and I write longer fics here on my ao3 and would love if you would check them out. Also, check out everything greyswidows has done! She's class!
> 
> Feb 13th - First trip to Ireland (written by me, So_Uncreative)

“Wait, why does that sign say we’re leaving the city?” Meredith asked confused from the passenger seat of the rental car, Hayes only laughed from the driver’s seat not taking his eyes from the road that he knew so well. It had been years since he’d driven home from Dublin airport, but he still knew the road like the back of his hand “I thought you said you grew up in the city.”

“No, what I said was that I grew up in Dublin which is a lot bigger than just a city,” Cormac replied in a relaxed tone that surprised Meredith. Their journey to Ireland hadn’t been the easiest between almost missing their flight, the turbulence that had made Meredith panic, and the stormy weather that had made the landing difficult had all contributed to their stress, but now that he was driving in the place he called home, it seemed Cormac had put all that behind him. When Cormac had invited her to join him on a trip to Ireland, she’d not quite known what to expect. Over their time together, she’d learned a lot about the culture and the history of the country but with Cormac only offering information about his family and where he’d grown up through small anecdotes and stories, Meredith couldn’t help but have more than a few questions.

The stormy weather that had prevented their plane from landing on time had seemingly begun to settle as they drove, and Meredith found herself entranced by the scenery that they drove past. For a random day in the middle of April, their countryside was displaying far more luscious greenery than she’d expected and when Cormac rolled down the window to prevent the windshield from fogging up, she couldn’t help but appreciate the smell that the freshly fallen rain had left in the air. “I think when we’re older and retired, we should move here”

“Let’s see if you're still saying that at the end of the week” he teased, not freaking out at the thought of still being with her when they were old enough to retire. It wasn’t often that they talked about the future but when they did, they always spoke with complete certainty. “It’s not that I don’t love the place, but I left for a reason y’know?”

“I actually don’t know why you left,” Meredith replied. They may have known each other for quite a while now, but they were constantly learning new things about one another. It’s what made their relationship so interesting, the way they never really ran out of stories or secrets to share with one another. Cormac turned down the radio that he'd put on as soon as they’d gotten into the car so that it was easy to talk over and Meredith decided to avert her gaze from the scenery to watch him as he talked.

“My Ma will tell you that it was just my wanderlust that led to me leaving because I think it’s just easier for her to believe that” he began, finding that although they were about twenty minutes from his parent's house, he still felt a pang of homesickness through his heart. “It was because there were no opportunities here, not for a new graduate anyway. One night when my Da and I were talking about the latest neighbor that had emigrated to Australia, his face darkened slightly and he told me that if I wanted to leave, he’d help me fund the trip. It was the same thing he’d said years later to Saoirse when she graduated but unlike me, she didn’t take him up on it. I left for the states about two or three months after that conversation and have only been back a handful of times since, and leaving gets harder every time.”

“I think I get why, it’s just so beautiful,” Meredith spoke softly. They both knew that she could never fully understand the feeling, she’d been born and raised in Seattle and even though she’d toured around Europe before her internship, and left for San Diego after her husband died, she had always returned home. They sat in silence for a moment, the gentle lull of the radio being the only thing filling the air until Cormac pulled into a familiar driveway with a smile.“Welcome to your home for the next week.”

-

“So, Meredith,” Saoirse smiled kindly as she placed down the mug of coffee in front of her before taking the seat across from her at the dining table. The two of them had been left alone for a few minutes while Cormac’s mother fretted over finishing up getting their room ready, and Cormac was dragged outside by his father Seamus.“Maccy tells me that you’re going to be going mad not being able to work for the time that ye’re here, I take it you’re as scalpel obsessed as he is”

“It’s hard not to be, I don’t think I’ll miss it as much as I’ll miss the kids though,” Meredith told her reaching forward to grab a biscuit from the tin she had produced seemingly out of nowhere. Although she’d just met Saoirse a little over twenty minutes ago, she felt as though she had known her forever and that they could talk about anything while they were alone together. Meredith was very tempted to ask about the use of a nickname that she’d never heard anyone else call Cormac but felt that she’d find out over time.

“Well, you are welcome to take my two any time you want, they are both so excited about your visit that they didn’t want to go to school at all today,” Saoirse replied. She was about to launch into some more juicy questions knowing her mother would be pressing her for more information on Meredith soon but before she could, their father and Cormac returned trailing mud on the floor after failing to wipe their feet on the doormat.

“Where’s the tea you were supposed to be making?” Cormac asked, raising his eyebrow at his sister. He’d been a bit nervous about leaving Meredith alone with his sister and half expected that when he would come back inside from admiring all the work that his father had done since he was last home, he’d find his sister and mother giving Meredith a full interview.

“It’s in the pot” Saoirse replied, pointing to the pot of tea she’d made after preparing the coffee that Meredith had asked for, after admitting that she wasn’t much of a tea drinker. Cormac only frowned at her, as their dad sat beside Saoirse who raised her eyebrow at her brother “What did you think? That I was going to serve it up to you like you were some sort of prince?”

“Well, like I did just fly 13 hours to come to see you, so I expected some hospitality” Cormac replied as he went to pour tea for both himself and his dad, not noticing how his sister rolled her eyes at him once his back was turned. Meredith couldn’t help but chuckle at the siblings' dynamic, she didn’t know what she’d expected in regards to the siblings' dynamic but she hadn’t expected them to be so teasing of one another. Cormac sat down beside Meredith and purposefully grabbed the chocolate biscuit from the tin knowing that it would wind his younger sister up when she noticed that he’d taken her favorites. He smiled at Meredith before speaking. “I’m quite surprised that Saoirse hadn’t scared you off yet.”

“Oh well you know me Maccy, I’m hard to scare off” Meredith replied with a wink and laughed along with Saoirse when Cormac’s face dropped upon hearing his childhood nickname come out of his girlfriend’s mouth. It wasn’t that the nickname was overly embarrassing on its own, but if Meredith knew the story that earned him said nickname then he knew that she’d never let him live it down in the same way his family hadn’t.

“I know girl, I think you’re gonna fit right in here.” Cormac’s mom Mary stated in an amused tone from the doorway, having gone unnoticed by the group as she’d entered the kitchen from the hallway. The moment didn’t seem as significant to the others as it was to the couple, as Saoirse got up to pour her mother some tea already giving out that Cormac had taken her biscuits, but his mother’s words made Cormac’s heart swell. He was delighted and unsurprised by how quickly Meredith had won over his mother, but his joy couldn’t compare to Meredith’s in any way. She knew how close Cormac was to his mother and that although he’d deny it that Mary’s approval meant everything to him, it felt nice to know that she’d made a pretty good first impression.

-

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you” Cormac called as he watched Meredith walk down the driveway and into the yard where he had been playing with his nephew and the family dog. It was their second last day in Ireland and while he was trying to squeeze as much family time in as possible, he also wanted to steal a quiet moment away with his girlfriend, feeling as though they hadn’t had time to themselves all week. His nephews seemingly guessed that he wanted to be alone with Meredith and declared loudly that they were heading inside, leaving the couple alone. “Where’d you go off too?”

“I just walked up to the gate, your Ma was right about the phone signal being better there,” Meredith told him, between the 8 hour time difference and the spotty phone signal of the Irish countryside it had been hard to get in touch with her family back in Seattle. Meredith had been avoiding complaining all week in an attempt to keep herself in Seamus and Mary’s good books but wished that she’d slipped it into the conversation earlier because the pair had been able to instantly solve the problem for her. “All the kids are good and send their love, Austin said to remind you to bring him something called rock candy.”

“Saoirse’s picking it up for me, I think it’s quite disgusting, but Austin can’t get enough of the stuff and you can’t get it anywhere back home.” Cormac explained “I was wondering if you were up for an adventure? Just the two of us.”

“That sounds great, lead the way.” Meredith smiled, instantly regretting how quickly she’d agreed as she watched her boyfriend duck through a small opening in the hedge and head into the field that was next to his house. Meredith sighed before following suit, instantly enquiring where they were headed and growing nervous when her boyfriend refused to tell her, claiming that it was going to be a surprise.

-

“Next time you ask me if I want to go on an adventure, remind me to change my shoes first,” Meredith stated as she finally caught up to Cormac. She’d been trailing behind him for the past few minutes since they’d entered a surprisingly wet field and she was disappointed in herself for not grabbing the pair of wellingtons that Mary was constantly offering her whenever she headed outside, instead of wearing her converse. Cormac only nodded; his eyes focused on the view in front of him, then Meredith as she spoke. Meredith turned her attention from Cormac to the view as well and immediately took her phone out to take a video, already knowing that her camera wouldn’t do the scene in front of them justice “It's Beautiful isn’t it?”

“It’s my favorite spot” Cormac smiled wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he’d been wanting to bring her up there all week, but the chance hadn’t presented itself till that day. They stood like that for a moment in silence, Cormac appreciating how gorgeous his girlfriend looked and how glad he was that she had agreed to come to Ireland, and Meredith appreciating the view and inhaling the air of the Irish countryside. Seamus had been telling her all week that nothing was better for the lungs than the air of the Irish countryside and she was willing to agree. She couldn’t help but think about how much her own kids would enjoy spending time in the area that her boyfriend had grown up. Zola would’ve probably spent her time there in the kitchen with Saoirse learning even more recipes and baking tricks than she already did, Meredith didn’t doubt for a second that Bailey would’ve been enthralled by Mary and how often she sat down to play some instrument or another, and she knew that Ellis would’ve wrapped Seamus around her finger in an instant and would’ve trailed around behind him in the yard or the fields not caring for a second if she got muddy or not. While Meredith thought of her children, Cormac couldn’t help but think of his past and decided after a few more moments to break the silence. “You know I’ve only ever brought three girls up here?”

“Really, who?”

“Well, the first girl was my first ever girlfriend Kelly O’Shaughnessy, the one who was the cause of the electric fence incident and the Maccy nickname,” Cormac admitted with an embarrassed laugh. When they had ducked under an electric fence earlier in their walk, Meredith had asked him if that was the one he used to have to get past when sneaking out, and he’d finally revealed to her the story she’d been wondering about since long before they’d kissed in her kitchen. “The second was Abigail on our first trip to Ireland. She’d been so taken by the view as well and I’d stuffed some fizzy drinks and two packets of Tayto crisps into my pockets hoping to have a picnic up here. It began to piss rain, not a minute after we got here, so we had our picnic under the hawthorn tree over there and she told me that she loved me. The third, well that’s you”

“Do I get a picnic too?” Meredith asked, averting her gaze from the gorgeous view to notice her boyfriend staring at her as if she was the prettiest thing that he could’ve been looking at during that moment. Some people might have felt awkward hearing him talk about his wife, but Meredith understood how nice it was just to share memory without being bombarded with sympathy, she was happy to hear Cormac talk about Abigail in the same way that he was always happy to let her talk about Derek. Mary had told Cormac that Meredith was like another half of him, late one night when just the two of them were up drinking tea and chatting and he had to agree with her, not only because she was his mother but because he’d been thinking the same thing since their first kiss.

“I didn’t think that far ahead this time” Cormac admitted with an awkward laugh. He’d honestly only intended on bringing Meredith through one or two of the barley fields that were situated beside his parents’ house and had only made the snap decision to lead her further when they reached the wet field and he’d seen how many pictures of the scenery she’d taken to send to Amelia and Maggie “I promise you though, the next time that we take an adventure I will make sure that I bring snacks and you have appropriate footwear.”

“That sounds like a very good plan.” Meredith grinned before kissing him, already feeling the excitement in her stomach at the idea of their next adventure.


	14. We Found Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Happy Valentines Day! The final chapter. This is very much so a bittersweet goodbye and thank you for your support on our little project over the last 14 days. When we first talked about the idea of doing this project back in mid-december, we had zero idea just how much we would end up loving this little series and everything about it. We really can't thank everyone enough for enjoying it. I hope this is a satisfying ending for you all. Enjoy.
> 
> Feb. 14th: We Found Love - Meredith and Hayes spend their first valentines day together as a married couple (written by greyswidows)

When Cormac Hayes decided he wanted to marry Meredith Grey, they’d been together for close to 3 years. They’d discussed the idea of marriage, but neither were too passionate about the idea of getting married again - they lived together as a family under one roof, and they reminded each other every day just how much they loved each other. They didn’t  _ need  _ to get married, but he loved her so much, he wanted to anyway. If Meredith were going to get married again, the only person she could have and would have ever even considered getting married to was Hayes. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, her best friend. They were each other’s partners and soulmates in this part of their lives.

Meredith had known the prospect of marriage was on the table for them in their relationship for quite some time before Hayes actually popped the question. He hadn’t wanted her to be taken aback or feel panicked when he finally asked her to be his wife, and so he made sure to let her know in advance that marriage was something he actually did want. He explained to her why, and reassured her that he wasn’t going to spring the question on her in the near future, just that if she wanted it too, he would come up with a plan. 

There were a few moments after they decided marriage was on the table, where Meredith would have expected Hayes to get down on one knee and ask the question she’d been anticipating. The first time was at a Christmas party, the second time while they were walking through the trails in a park, and the third time as they took a evening stroll on the beach in Malibu after a long day at a conference. Not one of those times did it happen, and when it did, it caught Meredith completely off guard. 

It happened during a family dinner at the Grey-Hayes house, with Maggie, Winston, plus their daughter Dianna, as well as Amelia, Link, Scout, and their daughter Charlotte. These family dinners happened once or twice a month, usually on a Saturday. The night of the engagement, nobody acted any differently than usual, and Meredith hadn’t been expecting Hayes to slip down from his chair onto one knee as he produced a velvet ring box from his pocket. Everyone watched intently with tears in their eyes as Meredith gasped and began crying as Hayes told her reasons why he loved her, and how even though he already knew he’d be spending the rest of his life with her no matter what, he wanted to marry his second soulmate. Meredith laughed through tears as she nodded yes, and he slipped the ring on her finger, kissing her passionately as their family clapped and cheered in the background. “God, you’re so cheesy.” Meredith said with a laugh as she admired the beautiful ring he’d picked out. He laughed along with her and shrugged, kissing her once more. Amelia snapped pictures of the newly engaged couple and the family celebrated together for the rest of the night.

-

The day of their wedding was one that they’d look back on and smile fondly at the thought of. Everything went off without a hitch, something Meredith never thought was possible in her life. Her family and friends from the hospital, plus Cristina, Alex, and Izzie, joined them at the wedding and celebrated the love that Meredith and Hayes shared for each other. While Meredith was a little hesitant to a large wedding initially, she warmed up to it as the congratulations rolled in from around the hospital and the Station 19 crew, and eventually she was sold on the idea of doing a larger wedding with the friends and family they’d been so fortunate to have supporting and rooting for them in their lives.

They read their vows through tears, recalling how much they relied on each other, how much they loved their family and how they felt so lucky to have found the person in this part of their lives that they could spend the rest of their time with. There wasn’t a dry eye in the venue as Meredith finished reading her vows, including Meredith herself, who was already a mess from hearing Hayes’. They told each other the two words that committed them to each other for as long as they lived, “I do” - and smiled into their first kiss as husband and wife. The light feeling in the air made for a beautiful reception, with lots of love, laughter, and dancing. 

-

For their first Valentines Day as a married couple, Hayes was determined to pull out all the stops. They’d celebrated Valentines pretty low-key in previous years, but this year felt extra important to him, since it’d be their first one as husband and wife. In the morning he made the entire family waffles, and relished in Ellis and Bailey calling him ‘dad’. It was something Ellis had begun calling him first, way back before he and Meredith had even gotten engaged. Bailey started using ‘dad’ to address Hayes after the proposal, and Zola was always proud to tell her friends at school that he was her step-dad. She flipped between calling him ‘dad’ and ‘Hayes’, and he never questioned it. Even though they’d begun to think of him as a father-figure and begun calling him dad a significant time ago, he always noticed how his heart seemed to melt when they called him dad, feeling an immense amount of gratitude and privilege to be seen as a dad to these children who had been through so much, and who he loved dearly.

In the afternoon he brought Meredith on a picnic on a hiking trail, as they fed birds and took in the scenery, chatting about everything, while also constantly reminding each other just how much they loved each other. They laid with each other silently on the ground, watching the clouds. Her head rested on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her, as they absentmindedly lay on the ground, feeling as much gratitude for the silence as they did for their ability to talk non-stop when they wanted to. 

For the evening, he’d made reservations for them both at one of the fancier restaurants in town, along with the promise of a bath together and plenty of sex afterwards. It was only upon the two of them sitting down at the restaurant and being brought wine, that they looked up at each other, the same realization dawning upon them at the same time. “We’ve never technically done this before, have we?” Meredith said with a slight laugh as she sipped the glass of wine sitting in front of her. “Now that I think of it, I made that promise to take you on a proper date way back when I first kissed you, and I never actually got around to it.” They tried to contain their laughter but were unsuccessful, as they acknowledged that this was technically their first proper date. They ordered their classic, fettuccine, and ate while chatting about work, home, and reminiscing back to when they had their first kiss, still stunned at how far they’d come since then. 

“Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?” Hayes asked as he stared at his wife sitting across from him. She smirked, responding with a chuckle. “Yes, several times.” Her smirk quickly turned into a grin. The way he looked at her made her feel like the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a few moments, before Meredith smiled and took his hand in her own. “I love you.” She told him, her thumb rubbing the back of his hand. He picked her hand up and kissed her fingertips softly, reiterating their favourite sentence to say to each other. “I love you too.”

Finally after getting home, the kids had been put to bed by their babysitter, and Meredith and Hayes had their house pretty much to themselves. They’d always loved the intimacy of taking a bath together, just laying in the warm water, up against each other’s bodies, soaking up the peace and serenity. When the water would start getting cold and they’d finally be getting ready to get out, Hayes would take the opportunity to begin teasing Meredith, running his hands up and down over her chest lightly, then when she started to squirm, he’d move his hands underwater and begin tracing circles on her inner thigh and kiss her neck as she leaned back into him and his fingertips danced around her heat. Though they’d deny it to anyone else, this was always their favourite part of bathing together. He could always tell when she had enough of the teasing and was ready to get out of the bath and get him to their bed so he could finish the job fully. 

Their first valentines as a married couple didn’t go too much differently than past times, other than the fact that Hayes took his teasing a bit further, with one hand teasing her heat, one hand on her chest, and continuing to kiss her neck all at once. Meredith definitely knew how to do her fair share of teasing in a tub as well, and when they finally got out of the bath, they didn’t even make it out of the bathroom. They began kissing almost as soon as they stepped out of the tub, and Meredith backed him into the door of the bathroom. They were good at teasing each other, and after 10 minutes of kissing in the bathroom and touching each other so tenderly and delicately to the point where they thought they might burst if they didn’t get to their bed, they finally opened the door of their en-suite bathroom and he laid her down on their bed, continuing to dance his fingers over her heat until he got in position to use his tongue and pleasure her, like she’d do to him not long after. He finally flipped her back over and just before he entered her, she heaved and said, “Tell me you love me.” This was something they often told each other to do during sex. “I love you.” He said, kissing her lips softly, then placing his kisses back onto her breasts as he entered her, and they made love for a better part of the night. 

After getting back from the bathroom, they laid next to each other as they came down from their several rounds, exhausted and in love. They gazed at each other with nothing but pure love in their eyes. She rested her head on his chest, her favourite place to lay her head down at night. There was something about listening to the sound of his heart beating right up against her ear that brought her so much comfort. She wrapped one of her legs around one of his, and he kissed the top of her head as he tightened the grip he had around her waist. “Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you.” He said in a low voice. Even if the quietness wasn’t necessary, it added to the intimacy. She looked up at him, and he was already looking down at her and smiling. “Happy Valentines Day, I love you too.” She said back, matching his tone. They looked at each other and smiled for a moment, and he kissed her forehead and then her lips, while he rubbed her back and she kneaded around his hip, and they finally drifted off to sleep, only needing each other’s comfort and presence to keep them content now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do plan on updating Begin Again and my collection of merhayes one-shots soon-ish, so stay on the lookout for that! And So_Uncreative and I are very much down to collaborate again, so keep an eye out in the next few months! Thank you again :)


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